Microeconomic Analysis

Microeconomic / Analysis

Microeconomic Analysis focuses on assessing the effects of a specific project or policy on individual stakeholders, such as households, businesses, workers or communities, and how they are differentially impacted. Unlike macroeconomic analysis, which looks at aggregate national or regional outcomes, microeconomic analysis zooms in on the distributional consequences of economic activity.

While a project may generate overall positive economic returns and contribute to national development goals, its benefits and costs are rarely distributed evenly across society. Certain groups, such as low-income households, small businesses or specific geographic regions, may gain disproportionately, while others may bear unintended costs or face disruption. These disparities may arise due to changes in land use, displacement, shifts in local labour markets or environmental impacts.

The primary objective of microeconomic analysis is to identify the winners and losers in a proposed intervention. This involves disaggregating impacts by stakeholder group. Key areas of focus include:

Income and employment effects on different population segments
Price changes and affordability of essential goods and services
Access to resources or public services (e.g., education, healthcare, transport)
Displacement or loss of livelihood, especially for vulnerable groups
Local business competitiveness and supply chain participation

Importantly, microeconomic analysis is not simply diagnostic, it is prescriptive. Once vulnerable or disproportionately affected groups have been identified, the analysis offers evidence-based recommendations to mitigate adverse impacts and enhance inclusive development. These may include:

Compensation schemes or resettlement plans
Local hiring requirements or skills development programs
Subsidies, price controls or social safety nets
Support for small enterprises or local procurement strategies

By addressing the equity and social justice dimensions of economic projects, microeconomic analysis ensures that development is not only efficient but also inclusive and sustainable. At StratEcon, these studies are often conducted in close collaboration with social scientists, community stakeholders and policymakers to ensure both analytical rigour and practical relevance.

Some of our Larger Projects and Clients are:

The impact of a parking policy on different characteristic areas in Johannesburg, for the Johannesburg Development Agency.
The impact of travel demand management campaigns on different areas in Johannesburg, the impact on different user groups (such as blue- or white-collar commuters and local retail businesses) and on different industries (such as service stations, car retail agencies and automotive repair shops). For the Johannesburg Development Agency.
Broadband rollout in Mitchells Plain and Blue Downs, to quantify the benefits of broadband to those specific suburbs in Cape Town, for Vumatel.
Assessing income levels of employees at the V&A Waterfront to determine who qualifies for inclusionary housing.
Identifying the impact of public transport tariffs on various household income groups, for the City of Cape Town Integrated Public Transport Network.
Developing a strategic economic and financial framework for the Saldanha Bay Municipality to understand which sectors to promote in order to drive growth, maximise employment and to minimise electricity and water usage.
Developing a stakeholder influence model to understand the contribution that certain policy and influencers could have on the size of the South African oil and gas industry, for the South African Oil & Gas Alliance (SAOGA)
Analysing individual commuter routes across South Africa to understand the true cost of transport on different groups, for SANRAL.
Developing support tariffs for low-income households, for the Electricity Control Board of Namibia.
The impact of tolling on different road user groups, for SANRAL projects across the country.