Poverty and Policy in Post

Apartheid South Africa The political freedoms ushered in by the post 1994 transition were seen at that time as the basis for redressing long-standing economic deprivations suffered by the majority of the population. The reduction of poverty, in all its dimensions, was the goal. Made up of 11 chapters, this authoritative volume explores poverty and labour market issues over the first decade of democracy in South Africa. It is an attempt by leading South African scholars, supplemented by the work of international scholars working on South Africa, to take stock of the first post-apartheid decade, to assess the evolution of poverty, inequality, human needs and unemployment, and to relate this evolution to the policy stances and interventions of the first government elected freely by all South Africans. Based on this assessment, the papers individually, and the overview chapter in particular, draw implications for policy in the second post-apartheid decade. The volume will be of interest to researchers, graduate students, and to the technical staff of international agencies and government ministries.

• Introduction: Poverty and well-being in post-apartheid South Africa Haroon Bhorat and Ravi Kanbur
• From chimera to prospect: South African sources of and constraints on long-term growth, 1970 – 2000 Johannes Fedderke
• Poverty and inequality in post-apartheid South Africa: 1995 – 2000 Johannes G. Hoogeveen and Berk zler
• Measuring recent changes in South African inequality and poverty using 1996 and 2001 census data Murray Leibbrandt, Laura Poswell, Pranushka Naidoo, Matthew
• Evolution of the labour market: 1995 2002 Haroon Bhorat and Morn Oosthuizen
• Public spending and the poor since the transition to democracy Servaas van der Berg
• Trade liberalisation and labour demand in South Africa during the 1990s Lawrence Edwards
• Does city structure cause unemployment? The case of Cape Town Sandrine Rospabe and Harris Selod
• Crime and local inequality in South Africa Gabriel Demombynes and Berk zler
• Poverty, asset accumulation and shocks in South Africa: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal Julian May
• Internal labour migration and household poverty in post-apartheid South Africa Dorrit Posel and Daniela Casale
• Half-measures revisited: The ANCs unemployment and poverty reduction goals Charles Meth

Professor Haroon Bhorat is Director of the Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU), based at the School of Economics, University of Cape Town. His research interests cover the areas of labour economics, poverty and income distribution. He has done extensive work for the Department of Labour, has served on a number of government research advisory panels and is currently a commissioner on the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC).

Professor Ravi Kanbur is the TH Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management Professor of Economics at Cornell University, USA.