Sub-Saharan African countries are increasingly recognising the contribution of post-basic education to economic growth and social development. However, policy makers in many developing world nations struggle to balance expansion and upgrading of post-basic education reform against competing development priorities. They must consider how — and sometimes whether — to fund post-basic education in the face […]
Lee-Roy Chetty
Lee-Roy Chetty holds a Master's degree in Media studies from the University of Cape Town and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A two-time recipient of the National Research Fund Scholarship, he is currently completing his PhD at UCT and is the author of a book titled – Imagining Web 3.0 Follow him on Twitter @leeroy_chetty. He can also be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]
Posted inNews/Politics
The realities of social mobility in South Africa
South Africa – the African continent’s largest economy and its only G-20 member – continues to display strikingly high and persistent inequality which has led to high levels of marginalisation for an upper middle-income country. The stark and at times obscene contradictions between rich and poor – a legacy of our country’s apartheid past – […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The role of China on the African continent
The exponential rate of Chinese investment in Africa over the past few years has been noted with both optimism and scepticism by mainstream media, political commentators and influential role players in the developed and developing world. Opinions triggered by this new development are deeply polarised. A positive view of increased and concentrated Chinese investment on […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Regional trade can boost Africa’s growth, jobs
There is strong consensus that regional integration is indispensable in promoting intra-African trade especially with a large African market of one billion consumers, which can be a powerful engine for growth and employment. Despite the underlying market potential for both cross-border and export trade, the volumes and values of the goods traded in the regional […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Youth employment, training outlook bleak
Sub-Saharan African countries show high rates of informal employment reaching up to 95%, while existing and interacting with relative weak economic development in the region. In addition, youths find difficulties entering into formal employment. Yet, unemployment rates and youth unemployment are only one indicator of the vulnerable position of young people in these labour markets […]
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Disgrace in our winelands
Out of South Africa’s nine provinces, the greatest number of farm workers reside in the wealthy and fertile Western Cape. Despite their fundamental role in the success of our country’s valuable fruit, wine, and tourism industries, farm workers benefit very little, in large part because they are subject to exploitative conditions and human-rights abuses without […]
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Understanding state-society connectedness
Today a general consensus prevails that sustainable development and security rely on legitimate and effective governments that can provide basic services to their populations and be held accountable both to their citizens and to the international community. In fragile situations, where state capacity is weak or has broken down, the international response in most cases […]
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Matching reforms to institutional realities
Social service delivery is weak across the developing world. While there is substantial heterogeneity across regions and countries, the picture of failing services is a familiar one. Challenges such as systematically high levels of absenteeism among teachers, doctors and nurses, persistent rates of drug stock outs — particularly in rural health clinics, rates of leakage […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The importance of public spending
The existence of long-term growth effects from public spending is hardly contested in policy discussions. Growth literature that has emerged over the last 20 years supports the belief that public spending affects long-term growth. First, standard growth models explaining total output level as a function of factor inputs (capital and labour), as well as the […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
South Africa 2013
South Africa’s potential growth has slowed over the last few years. Considerable efforts will be needed to meet the Government’s goal of raising per capita income and to create 11 million new jobs by 2030. Moreover, inequality continues to be unacceptably high, suggesting that making growth more inclusive remains an important policy challenge. Our government […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Addressing the housing shortage in South Africa
Access for the poor to urban land and housing is one of the main challenges facing policy makers in South Africa. Estimates suggest that 26% of households in the six metropolitan areas in our country live in in-formal dwellings, often “illegally” and with limited access to services. Movement from the informal to the formal sector […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The financial crisis and emerging economies
The role of globalisation after the 2008–2009 financial crises has fundamentally altered the economic landscape around the world. Excessive dependence on exports to the United States and the European Union has long been identified as a problem for developing countries. Product and market diversification should be part of any trade or development strategy. The fall […]