Category Inequality in South Africa

A central message from government since the 2009 elections is that the “economy needs coordination.” To this end, in addition to the already existing National Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry, government has created the Economic Development Department…

“Give us massive price increases or the lights will once again go out,” is the nub of the message from Eskom to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). This simple and powerful posture by Eskom however hides the…

Often civil society activism seems like a mixture of dissatisfaction and hope without much impact on the real world. Activists are usually conscious of the formidable odds against “change” because of the all encompassing and rarely adequately defined structures of…

An emerging description of the South African economy is captured in the words “polarisation paralysis.” The term has several renderings and different emphasis across academic disciplines, with important nuance and extensions. Another rendering is that it might provide a metaphor…

Do individuals spend their money better than families? This foundational question in the design of income support programmes for the poor has not been robustly debated. Instead, the strong and robust debates have historically focussed on the possibilities of the…

Current debates on the motor industry rescue plan remind me of the origins of the term “Hobson’s choice”. The phrase draws from a Mr. Hobson that rented out horses, and gave his customers no choice as to which horse they…