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Kenneth Creamer is a South African economist, academic and economic policy adviser. He is a senior lecturer in the School of Economics and Finance at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and a member of South Africa's Presidential Economic Advisory Council.[1][2]

Creamer's research and policy work has focused on macroeconomics, monetary and fiscal policy, economic growth and energy policy. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 and reappointed him in 2024.[3][2]

Education and early career

Creamer studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and holds master's degrees in law from Wits and financial economics from SOAS University of London, as well as a PhD from Wits.[3] His doctoral work received a Founder’s Gold Medal from the Economic Society of South Africa in 2010.[3] He served as president of the Wits Students' Representative Council in 1992.[4] A 2013 profile in WITSReview covered Creamer's education, student leadership, academic work and involvement in Creamer Media.[5] During the 1990s, Creamer worked as research coordinator in the parliamentary office of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).[3]

Academic career and research

Creamer is a senior lecturer in the School of Economics and Finance at Wits.[1] His research has addressed macroeconomics, economic growth, pricing, exchange rates and energy policy. With Greg Farrell and Neil Rankin, he published research on pricing behaviour in the South African Journal of Economics in 2012.[6] He also co-authored research on exchange-rate pass-through to South African consumer prices published in The Journal of Development Studies.[7] Creamer contributed "South Africa's fiscal framework" to The Oxford Companion to the Economics of South Africa in 2014 and "Constraints to Economic Growth in South Africa" to The Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy in 2021.[8][9] In 2022, Creamer, Antonio Andreoni, Mariana Mazzucato and Grové Steyn published "How can South Africa advance a new energy paradigm? A mission-oriented approach to megaprojects" in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy. The article examines South Africa's energy transition, including the restructuring of Eskom, energy-system decentralisation and sustainable industrialisation.[10]

Economic policy work

In September 2019, Ramaphosa appointed Creamer to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, an independent, non-statutory body that advises the president and government on economic policy.[3] Ramaphosa reappointed Creamer to the council in November 2024, with the Presidency identifying his areas of focus as macroeconomics, growth and the just energy transition.[2]

Creamer's economic-policy assessments have also been reported in national media. In 2025, News24 reported his assessment of prospects for stronger South African economic growth,[11] while the Financial Mail reported his criticism of the country's low growth rate and his support for economic impact assessments of proposed government policies.[12] In 2026, Business Day reported on Creamer's analysis of investment constraints, including his argument that South Africa's financial system had capacity to finance greater investment but lacked a sufficient pipeline of viable infrastructure projects.[13]

Creamer Media

Creamer is a director and chief executive officer of Creamer Media, a South African media company that publishes Engineering News, Mining Weekly and Polity.[14] His dual involvement in Creamer Media and academia was profiled by WITSReview in 2013.[5]

Selected publications

Creamer, Kenneth; Farrell, Greg; Rankin, Neil (2012). "What Price-Level Data Can Tell Us About Pricing Conduct in South Africa". South African Journal of Economics. 80 (4): 490–509. 

Aron, Janine; Creamer, Kenneth; Muellbauer, John; Rankin, Neil (2014). "Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Consumer Prices in South Africa: Evidence from Micro-Data". The Journal of Development Studies. 50 (1): 165–185.

Creamer, Kenneth (2014). "South Africa's fiscal framework". In The Oxford Companion to the Economics of South Africa. Oxford University Press.

Creamer, Kenneth; Botha, Robert Tregathen (2017). "Assessing nominal GDP targeting in the South African context". Central Bank Review. 17 (1): 1–10. 

Creamer, Kenneth (2021). "Constraints to Economic Growth in South Africa". In The Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy. Oxford University Press. 

Andreoni, Antonio; Creamer, Kenneth; Mazzucato, Mariana; Steyn, Grové (2022). "How can South Africa advance a new energy paradigm? A mission-oriented approach to megaprojects". Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 38 (2): 237–259. 

Creamer, Kenneth. (2026). “Tracing the Historical Structure of Economic Growth in South Africa and Identifying Policies for Inclusive Growth and Redistribution”. In: Dlakavu, et al. (eds) “Three Decades of South African Democracy”, Volume I. Palgrave Macmillan.

References

1. "People – School of Economics and Finance". University of the Witwatersrand. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

2. "President Ramaphosa appoints Presidential Economic Advisory Council for the 7th Administration" The Presidency, Republic of South Africa. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

3. "President appoints Economic Advisory Council". The Presidency, Republic of South Africa. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

4. "SRC and BSS Presidents". University of the Witwatersrand. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

5. Dugmore, Heather (July 2013). "Dr Kenneth Creamer: Addicted to Wits" (PDF). WITSReview. Vol. 25. University of the Witwatersrand. pp. 22–25. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

6. Creamer, Kenneth; Farrell, Greg; Rankin, Neil (2012). "What Price-Level Data Can Tell Us About Pricing Conduct in South Africa". South African Journal of Economics. 80 (4): 490–509. doi:10.1111/j.1813-6982.2012.01329.x.

7. Aron, Janine; Creamer, Kenneth; Muellbauer, John; Rankin, Neil (2014). "Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Consumer Prices in South Africa: Evidence from Micro-Data". The Journal of Development Studies. 50 (1): 165–185. doi:10.1080/00220388.2013.847178.

8. "South Africa's fiscal framework". Oxford Academic. Oxford University Press. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

9. "Constraints to Economic Growth in South Africa". Oxford Academic. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

10.   Andreoni, Antonio; Creamer, Kenneth; Mazzucato, Mariana; Steyn, Grové (2022). "How can South Africa advance a new energy paradigm? A mission-oriented approach to megaprojects". Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 38 (2): 237–259. doi:10.1093/oxrep/grac007.

11.   Vanek, Monique (14 January 2025). "SA economy set to forge upward path after misfiring for over a decade". News24. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

12.   Marrian, Natasha (5 June 2025). "GDP figures: the slump continues". Financial Mail. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

13.   Maeko, Thando (13 July 2026). "SA has money to invest — it just does not have enough projects to invest in". Business Day. Retrieved 16 August 2026.

14.   "Directors and Management". Creamer Media. Retrieved 16 August 2026.