Poverty issues for zero rating VAT in South Africa

Governments often include equity considerations when determiningrates for value added taxes (VAT). This paper explores the implicationof current and proposed tax exemptions in South Africa fromthe perspective of their impact on the expenditures of the poorand on the calorie and protein consumption of low-income households.Maize, which is currently exempted from VAT, is shown to bethe best choice for low tax rates from both the standpointsof equity and the impact on the food consumption of the poor.In contrast, lower tax rates on fluid milk, which is currentlyexempted from VAT, and meat, for which an exemption has beenproposed, are not good vehicles for assisting the poor. Thepaper illustrates the revenue forgone with zero tax rates onthese commodities and compares the tax relief for the poor andchange in nutrients consumed from alternative tax exemptions.     

Underemployment in South Africa

With the introduction of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey since 2008, a newly derived variable, namely underemployed, has become available. It is derived according to the ‘time-related’ approach (i.e. those who are employed, but would like to work longer hours and are available to work longer hours in the near future). However, underemployment could also be derived according to the ‘inadequate employment situations’ approach (e.g. under-utilisation of skills, over-qualification). Because underemployment is a seriously under-researched topic in South Africa, this article investigates the extent of underemployment according to these two definitions, before examining whether the characteristics of the two groups of underemployed are significantly different.     

在南非的日子

“我一直是一个心存幻想的女人,不肯一辈子走别人为我安排的道路。前方的路清清楚楚,仿佛可以看到坟墓,日复一日地重复着没有任何新鲜感的日子,我只想逃离……”     

Economic growth and redistribution in South Africa

The debate over appropriate methods of reducing racial income and wealth inequalities in South Africa has thus far yielded two opposing schools of thought. ‘Growth through redistribution’ and ‘redistribution through growth’ make countervailing claims concerning the efficiency gains and losses attendant upon redistribution. But the relation between economic growth and the redistribution of income and wealth may be more complex than commonly realised. From the literature surrounding Olson's (1982) Rise and Decline of Nations, especially Brock & Magee (1984) and Magee et al (1989), it can be shown that redistributive behaviour can actually increase the rate of economic growth in the short term, and depress growth in the longer term.     

Agricultural efficiency and welfare in South Africa

Agricultural and food commodity price declines associated with domestic and international agricultural efficiency gains can have important welfare effects for a country. While food price reductions benefit low-income consumers in particular, they may also cause declines in agricultural employment, leading to some resistance to technological change as a policy goal. The simulations reported here use a South African Computable General Equilibrium model with highly disaggregated food and agricultural sectors to illustrate the various effects of such agricultural efficiency gains. The results suggest that technological advances in agriculture should not be resisted because of their negative impact on agricultural employment; the welfare gains from declining prices are too important, while employment gains in other (growing) sectors are likely to outweigh the loss of agricultural employment. In the face of increasing international efficiency South African agriculture should be encouraged to respond by also increasing its efficiency, despite the negative consequences for employment in the industry, as a failure to do so may be even more detrimental to the poor in terms of overall employment.     

Defence expenditure and development in South Africa

This article explores the channels through which defence can either promote or compromise economic development. It reviews the roles of the military as an agent for modernisation in developing societies and as an absorber of scarce resources. The article then examines how the military affected development in South Africa in the past and how it could do so in the future, given the decline in defence expenditure.