Unisa has responded to the developments brought about by changing times, the needs of a developing country and society at large. Unisan Prof Sin-Yu Ho is a testament to this statement (call to action) through her research focus on financial development, financial inclusion, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Covid-19, poverty and economic growth in developing countries.

An esteemed associate professor in the Department of Economics in the College of Economic and Management Sciences, Ho has made a social impact on policies and economies in several key ways. Her research has unearthed the importance of access to financial services and hence contributed to empowering marginalised communities with essential banking tools and credit access fundamental to economic stability and opportunities for growth.

Researcher extraordinaire Prof Sin-Yu Ho

During the heightened period of the pandemic, Ho researched the impact of Covid-19 on African economies from the perspectives of investor attention and exchange rate exposure on stock markets. These studies have brought important and timely policy recommendations on financial system stabilisation to policymakers in Africa in the wake of the pandemic.

"My recent work has particularly emphasised SME empowerment and resilience, job creation, local economic stimulation and entrepreneurial ventures, thus contributing to sustainable development and poverty alleviation," states Ho, who is a C2-rated researcher in terms of the rating system of the National Research Foundation (NRF). 

Through robust econometric analysis, she has identified credible pathways for enhancing income generation and improving livelihoods for vulnerable populations. Moreover, her research has contributed to policy advocacy and knowledge sharing by influencing the adoption of more inclusive development policies, thereby enhancing collaborative efforts to promote financial inclusion and economic empowerment in developing economies.

Ho’s research has been well disseminated via various outlets, including scientific journals and conference presentations, and has been recognised for its social impact through scholarship awards and funding. By and large, her research has demonstrated a tangible social impact by establishing clear pathways for empowering individuals, businesses and communities to thrive in the face of economic challenges, thereby contributing significantly to global development efforts. 

Research projects that significantly contribute to global development efforts

Ho is currently working on two projects related to development economics in emerging markets and developing countries.The first project is the Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development Programme (SA-TIED), which is an initiative of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). This project is aimed at fostering sustainable and inclusive economic development in South Africa. Ho says it is anticipated that the project will significantly contribute to the advancement of economic knowledge and policymaking strategies that promote inclusivity, sustainability and growth in South Africa. “Focusing on South Africa’s Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) programme, we seek to understand the impact of labour incentives on inclusive employment and firm-level total factor productivity.”

It is also anticipated that the project will contribute significantly in terms of international scholarly collaboration in Australia and the United States of America, as well as skills transfer and capacity building within Unisa.

The second project is the Women in Research Support Programme of Unisa, which examines the development and impact of SMEs in Africa. In particular, it intends to explore the development of SMEs in South Africa through an in-depth review of existing academic literature, historical data and policy documents. In addition, the project team intend to gain a greater understanding of how SMEs shape critical issues, such as financial stability, inclusive development and energy security.

A woman in research leadership

Ho is a recipient of the 2024 Unisa Women in Research Leadership Award. "This award not only serves as a recognition of my research works but also motivates me to strive to be an exemplary scholar in my field of study," she says.

Her track record of scholarly leadership speaks for itself. From 2018 to 2022, she published 20 articles, with four being sole-authored and the remainder being co-authored with an international scholar in Australia and her master’s and doctoral (M&D) students in the United States of America, Ghana and South Africa. Eight of these articles were published in international journals with impact factors higher than two.

In 2022, two of her publications were published in the finance journal, Finance Research Letters, which has an impact factor of 10.4. "Publishing in such high impact factor journals ensures the dissemination of my ideas and knowledge to a wider audience, including policymakers and key stakeholders. Given this, I expect my publications to shape public opinions and policies both domestically and internationally," she says.

The quality of her publications has been confirmed by awards such as the Emerald Literati Award (2018), the Women-in-research Emerging Researcher Award (2018), the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research (2019) and the Dean’s Award (2021).

Furthermore, the quality of her publications and supervision has had a positive spillover effect by increasing the research profile of Unisa in the field of economics. Her research expertise in her field has been recognised internationally, as evidenced by her appointment to various editorial boards. She is regularly invited to review articles for several accredited international journals.

In addition, her effective supervision of a doctoral student’s thesis and the record completion of his PhD within two years have been well received by both his current employer, the International Monetary Fund, and his former employer, the Central Bank of Lesotho.

Ho is currently supervising two doctoral students, both of whom are senior economists at the Central Bank of Ghana. "With the strong demonstrative effect, it is anticipated that more high-quality students will consider applying for postgraduate studies at Unisa," she says.

Paving the way for emerging scholars in economics

In paving the way for emerging researchers, Ho has been intentional with skills transfer and capacity building. She prides herself on being the chief investigator of the Women in Research Support Programme, an initiative of Unisa’s Directorate of Research Support.

Through this project, she has been able to mentor and transfer valuable experience on how to manage a research project, track research progress and collaborate with international scholars to her co-investigator, who recently joined Unisa as a lecturer when the project started. This has assisted her in improving her research capacity and paved the way for a future application for an NRF rating.

The transfer of knowledge is also evident in Ho’s supervision and co-authorship of publications with her M&D students.

A mentee of Ho completed and passed his master’s degree cum laude within 18 months in 2021. "After his graduation, I continued to transfer my research skills to him through co-authoring," she reflects. Three articles have been extracted from his master’s dissertation and published in accredited journals.

A more recent mentee completed his doctoral thesis within two years. "We have co-authored five papers so far, and four of them have been under review in the accredited journals," she says.

* By Mpho Moloele, PR and Communications, Department of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation