The Archive
Accessible, evidence-based analysis on growth and inclusive development in South Africa.
Expanded access to electricity has been a boon to development in many low- and middle-income countries, including South Africa, but erratic supply has proved a major constraint to economic growth. Now, in the first study on the effects of load-shedding on employment, the authors find that prolonged and regular power outages are significantly and negatively associated with job retention, working hours, and earnings.
The inclusion of Saudi Arabia in the BRICS alliance presents a significant opportunity for South Africa to expand its livestock exports, particularly in the lucrative live-goat market. Despite the potential benefits, smallholder farmers face substantial barriers to accessing international markets due to institutional and production constraints. Establishing a reliable export market could not only enhance the income and livelihoods of smallholders but also stimulate goat production, akin to the success observed in the wool industry. However, challenges such as animal diseases and inadequate infrastructure must be addressed to fully capitalize on this opportunity. By navigating regulatory requirements and leveraging the BRICS trade partnership, South Africa can strategically position itself to become a key player in the global goat trade, thereby boosting rural economies and fostering sustainable agricultural development.
The agricultural sector has grown measurably in the 30 years of democracy -South Africa is now ranked 59th out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index and is the only African country within the world’s top 40 agricultural exporters. The challenge now is how to make that growth more inclusive.
Inclusionary housing policy offers a new way of addressing the urban housing crisis in South Africa. It involves private developers contributing to the production of well-located affordable housing in return for public incentives. What are the main principles and mechanisms involved in these partnerships? We look at the experiences of three South African cities at different stages of adopting and implementing the policy.
The recent Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the negative socioeconomic impacts associated with disease. But malaria has impacted the health and economic outcomes of people in the tropics for several millennia. The disease is endemic and life-threatening in more than 94 countries, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for the highest concentration of countries at risk. Evidence shows that the disease has significant impact on economic development, and also increases gender inequality.
Are budget cuts the only option to reduce the deficit and cut the national debt? Or has the main economic challenge been misstated? The Institute for Economic Justice argues that the county’s main challenge is not the debt burden but growth, and that there are a number of steps National Treasury could take to raise more revenue without cutting spending that threatens development and socio-economic rights.
The number of personal income taxpayers and aggregate taxable income increased strongly between 2011 and 2017 despite a slowing economy. These both declined during the Covid period and have since recovered, though more slowly than in the earlier period. In 2023, there were 7.6 million taxpayers above the threshold, up from 5.9 million in 2011. What role has tax policy played in the resilience of the tax base – and what do the trends indicate about progress towards a more inclusive economy?
The South African constitution is considered progressive and transformative in intention due to its inclusion of socioeconomic rights, such as the right to education, food, and healthcare. However, some of these rights are qualified by the availability of state resources, which…
The avian flu currently spreading across South Africa has raised concerns about the potential uptick in food inflation. However, it may be too early for such fears, and it is not clear how long or widespread this effect will be. Moreover, the various interventions being considered by government could lessen the impact on both consumers and the domestic poultry industry.
Has the new technology that has given rise to thousands of “digital” workers destroyed the traditional collective power of worker organisation? A new book, Recasting Workers Power: Work and Inequality in the Shadow of the Digital Age, which examines work in three sectors in South Africa and Uganda, shows that workers’ organisation has survived into the digital age, albeit in a different form from traditional trade unions. Alliances with existing unions, with civil society organisations, and with each other if they are self-employed, together with a strategic use of institutions, have enabled digital workers to flex some collective muscle.
Nearly half the working-age population and nearly two-thirds of the unemployed live in areas designated as townships under apartheid spatial laws. Originally developed as “labour dormitories”, they have been challenging to develop as more vibrant local economies and residential areas. What can the government – and the private sector – do to stimulate growth, entrepreneurship, and employment in these peri-urban areas?
South Africa’s low labour utilisation rate is a stark outlier by international standards, made even more unusual because achieving job creation and high employment rates appear to be well understood in other economies. What policy remedies can South Africa learn from other countries? Increasing economic competition and removing impediments to job creation are clear lessons. So too is the focus and effectiveness of labour-market institutions that lower the cost of job search. Other gains can be found in lowering costs to job creation and labour supply, easing school-to-job transitions, and making job search more effective.
South Africa’s exports have lagged behind the rest of the world over recent decades, and this has likely constrained overall economic growth. To address the inherent bias against exporting, South Africa urgently needs to address the high costs of investment and trading across borders; review the impact of existing industrial, localisation, and sector-specific policies on export behaviour; implement a comprehensive and well-targeted export promotion and export finance framework; and update its trade policy approach to negotiations across the continent and internationally.
The vaping industry has vociferously opposed a new tax on vaping products. But only the largest containers of e-liquid will feel hefty price increases – more than double in some cases. Young people who are starting to vape are more likely to buy disposable vapes, which attract less tax. As currently structured, the excise tax is not sufficiently targeted at reducing, or preventing, the use of vaping products among youth.
Most of the studies on gig work focus on the Global North. There has been little research on how platform workers in Africa are responding to the digital economy. Although it is ostensibly based on freedom and self-employment, our research amongst food-courier riders in South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya found that this new work order is deepening worker insecurity, undermining worker rights, and dramatically increasing inequality between a core group of extremely wealthy senior manager/owners and a growing pool of precarious workers.