Home

>

Production, Inequality and Poverty linkages in South Africa

23 September 2012
Publication Type: Working Paper
JEL Code: C20, C32, D31, E23

The Kuznets inequality-development hypothesis can be tested with time-series data rather than the cross-section analyses found in earlier literature. Single-country time-series analysis cannot be done without addressing endogeneity between output and inequality. South Africa has been under-researched in this area due to a lack of data. Recent data released by the Presidency of South Africa makes such analysis possible. Besides, the use of a single inequality index in such a multiracial society is likely to capture only average effects. This paper jointly estimates production, inequality (decomposed by sub-group) and poverty with 3sls using South African data. The findings suggest that production is affected negatively by between-group inequality. Credit constraints and interracial tensions are possible causes, generating significant adverse effects that stifle economic productivity. Within-group inequality enhances production, possibly due to within-group social capital. There is evidence of an inverted U-shape relationship between per capita income and between-group inequality, but a U-shaped one between per capita income and within-group inequality. However due to the effects of the active post-apartheid policies — which reduce between-group inequality, but increase within-group inequality — it is doubtful if this relationship is capturing a Kuznets process. There is a significant poverty-increasing (reducing) effect of total and between-group inequalities (output). The abjectly poor seem to suffer more from inequality than others do. Policy efforts have to focus on reducing between group inequality.

Working Paper 206
1 March 2011
SHARE THIS Working Paper PUBLICATION:

Related The Covid Project Publications

COVID-19 and the South African Economy
Discussion Document 02 As South Africa looks to navigate itself out...
Published: 1 September 2022
Discussion Document
Building a competitive and dynamic green industrial sector in South Africa after COVID-19
Policy Paper 28 COVID-19 gave the world a glimpse of how devastatin...
Published: 28 June 2021
Policy Paper
Addressing low labour utilisation in South Africa
Policy Paper 27 South Africa’s stubbornly low labour utilisation ra...
Published: 28 June 2021
Policy Paper
Understanding South Africa’s trade policy and performance
Policy Paper 26 South Africa’s exports have lagged behind the rest ...
Published: 28 June 2021
Policy Paper
Sailing into the Wind: evaluating the (near) future of Monetary Policy in South Africa
Policy Paper 25 This paper evaluates the main challenges facing Sou...
Published: 9 April 2021
Policy Paper
Financial Statecraft: Government Choice of Debt Instruments
We explore the diversity of means by which governments borrow ̵...
Published: 24 June 2020
Working Paper
Labour market and monetary policy in South Africa
Unemployment is the defining characteristic of the South African ec...
Published: 29 September 2015
Policy Brief