Prof Corné van Walbeek

Corné van Walbeek is a Professor at the School of Economics, and the Director of REEP (Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products), at the University of Cape Town. His PhD thesis, completed in 2005, was entitled “The Economics of Tobacco Control in South Africa”.

His research interests are primarily in the economics of tobacco control, and in particular how changes in the excise tax on tobacco products can affect cigarette consumption. Within this field, his research has focused on the estimation of price elasticities of demand, how excise tax increases impact different socio-economic groups, how price and income changes affect the affordability of cigarettes, and the industry’s reaction to changes in the tobacco excise tax.  In 2010 he developed the Tobacco Excise Tax Simulation Model (TETSiM). This model has been used in more than 20 countries to estimate the likely impact of a change in the excise tax structure and/or the excise rate on tobacco consumption and government revenue. 

Since 2011, when the Economics of Tobacco Control Project (the predecessor of REEP) was founded, Corné's research has focused more on low- and middle-income countries. Through the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Tobacco Taxation, which is based within REEP, he and his team have supported many countries to think critically about their excise tax systems, and to improve them.

In 2020 the REEP group was at the forefront of evaluating the 20-week ban on the sales of tobacco products in South Africa. Illicit trade is a significant concern in South Africa, and he and his team have conducted many studies to estimate the size of the illicit market.

Institutional webpage: https://commerce.uct.ac.za/reep/contacts/corne-van-walbeek