Gender inequalities in morbidity : a South African investigation

International studies of gender differences in health status largely attest that women have worse health conditions than men, which compromise women’s contribution to economic development. Using the South African Demographic and Health Survey of 2003, we investigate whether this disparity also holds in developing countries such as South Africa. Our results concur with previous findings that South African women are more likely to suffer from poor health than men. They also reveal that the health gap is largely driven by a relatively higher prevalence of health conditions among women, rather than by the severity of the conditions that they face. Furthermore, contrary to the common view that the health gap closes with age, we find that the gap exhibits little variation across age groups and it persists in old age. This suggests a need for preventive measures to reduce the occurrence of health conditions in South Africa – which is vital for economic development.http://www.scimagojr.comam2017School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA

Are social grants a threat to fiscal sustainability?

The recent global economic crisis once again demonstrated that macroeconomic shocks can cause large and unforeseen losses that are unevenly distributed across the population. As the social grants and security system is one key dimension of individual and social well-being in South Africa, its effectiveness and equity is essential for improving social welfare. But does this pose a risk to the country's fiscal sustainability, ask Ramos Mabugu and Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu.

Can trade liberalisation in South Africa reduce poverty and inequality while boosting economic growth?: macro-micro reflections

South Africa is trapped in a cycle of modest growth, unacceptable poverty levels and record unemployment. This has led to renewed interest on the relationship between macro (growth) and micro (poverty and distribution) issues. This paper uses a macro-micro tool that couples a computable general equilibrium model with micro simulation models to examine the impact of further unilateral trade policy reforms on growth, poverty and welfare. Trade liberalisation alone has very minimal short-run macroeconomic consequences while its long-term impacts are positive and magnified by technical factor productivity (TFP) effects. Trade liberalisation has no appreciable impact on poverty in the short run even if we allow for trade-induced TFP increases. In the long run, however, poverty reduces even in the case when we do not allow for TFP increases. Trade liberalisation policy has been found to be progressive despite the low level of tariff protection remaining in South Africa.

The employment effect of economic growth: introducing the South African economy

This introductory chapter presents a short review of the progress that the South African economy has made since the economic and financial crisis. It begins by contextualising the three main challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality bedevilling the economy. The global crisis and its recovery are then contextualised in terms of South Africa. Lastly, the chapter looks at the road ahead and concludes with some predictions for the future. This discussion is meant to set the scene for the chapters in Part 2, which discuss the economy in more detail (Chapters 6-9).

Understanding the effects of fiscal policy on South Africa

Increased investment spending would decrease the national debt of the country as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product, reduce government deficit and improve the economic health of the country, says Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu.

The relevance and possibility of attaining the Millenium Development Goals by 2015 in South Africa

HSRC Policy Brief, JulyThis policy brief, on the relevance and the possibility of attaining the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, is based on various studies carried out by a number of national departments and international organizations. Key among them is a recent study which looks at the economic impact of different options for creating and using fiscal space to attain outstanding Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In this exercise, which made use of a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, fiscal space was simulated by mobilizing additional revenue (resources) through increased domestic revenue and a number of possible scenarios were drawn up and analysed.

An analysis of the efficacy of fuel taxation for pollution control in South Africa

This chapter investigates whether fuel expenditures are regressive or progressive in South Africa. This would then suggest whether a fuel tax would be an effective or desirable instrument for pollution control. The study also investigates alternative price reforms for different types of fuel to ascertain their distributional effects on different households.