Invisible capital: The contribution of communal rangelands to rural livelihoods in South Africa

Communal rangelands (including their woodland component) contribute significantly to rural livelihoods in that a variety of natural resources are utilised for direct use and for exchange in local and more distant markets. Natural resources are also valued for purposes which are not ‘economic’ (eg for ceremonial and aesthetic reasons) and because of their ecological functions. The fact that many of these uses are not monetised means that their true social and economic value is often underestimated and not taken adequately into account when assessing, for example, the viability of land redistribution projects. The ecological dimension is as crucial as the socio‐economic: how sustainable is this multifold use of communal rangeland resources? More positively, can the productivity of ‘natural capital’ be increased, and how can the benefits of multifold utilisation activities be more widely distributed to help address rural poverty? This article discusses conceptual models drawn from the general literature which may be of relevance; reviews some of the southern African evidence on rural livelihoods and natural resource use; and attempts to draw out the lessons for poverty assessments and land reform policy.     

South African food resources for the future∗

Internationally, Government action has failed to resolve problems of agriculture, and has proved expensive. Views on the long‐term ability of agriculture to produce sufficient food have varied between optimism and pessimism. Pessimism prevailed in the seventies, but the same period experienced rapid increases in food production, with stocks reaching record volumes by 1986. Food production has outstripped population growth over the long run. Food shortages and famines are caused by distribution problems rather than low aggregate production. Differences in income levels cause problems in the entitlement of poorer people to food. South African agriculture exhibits dualism in production, both in terms of quantities produced and sophistication in the array of foodstuffs produced. Dualism is as prevalent in consumption. In South Africa, some have food in abundance, and others live below the breadline. This is a function of revenue, and has a racial content as well as security implications. South African food industries should cope with dualism by accepting raw materials of differing quality and delivering foodstuffs with differing attributes. This calls for deregulation and a small degree of concentration. Sanctions may aggravate affairs.     

Women,gender and policy‐making in the South African context

Equality, including gender equality, is a fundamental principle of the South African constitution. This article is intended as a briefing document for researchers and policy‐makers on some of the more qualitative gender considerations involved in policy‐making and analysis. The article is not based on original research or data analysis, but is informed by a range of papers and studies which throw up gender questions about conventional ways of seeing. The article starts by dealing briefly with the distinction between ‘equity’ and ‘efficiency’ arguments for gender equality. After summarising past and current developments in establishing gender machinery within government, it goes on to suggest how traditional economic theory obscures or distorts gender issues. Finally it discusses the use and abuse of concepts commonly encountered in both poverty studies and discussions of gender.     

The South African social safety net: past,present and future

Discriminatory social provision in South Africa originated soon after Union. This differentiation continued in the period before Nationalist rule, but there were also attempts at liberalisation, particularly during the Second World War. Nationalist rule brought with it a reversal of what little gains may have been made. From the early 1970s there was a gradual shift away from apartheid dogma. Future policies will need to eliminate gaps in the social safety net and ensure that adequate entitlements are delivered prudently and cost‐effectively.     

Integration into the South African core economy: household‐level covariates

In this analysis of household survey data, households' main income sources are used as indicators of integration into the South African core economy. The allocation of main income sources is studied as the outcome of households' demographic composition, geographic location and earners' characteristics. The emerging picture of household income generation is one that disputes the common perception of African households as raising their incomes from a multitude of sources. The majority of surveyed households rely to a large extent on a single source of income and a single income earner. Separate multinomial logit models are estimated for urban and non‐urban households where, in addition to the considerable association with non‐urban residence, prominent earner covariates of low‐integration income sources are female gender, old or young working age, and low levels of education. Both provincial location and within‐provincial, subregional locations display strong impacts. The study also finds associations between main income sources and households' demographic compositions that are compatible with findings both in studies on private transfer behaviour and in the growing literature on endogenous household formation in South Africa.     

The present state of urbanisation in the South African homelands: rethinking the concepts and predicting the future

Trends in urbanization in the South African homelands are analyzed. The need to reconsider the definition of an urban area is first established. Consideration is given to the likely impact of the abolition of migration controls on urbanization trends in South Africa as a whole, particularly as this affects migration to urban areas in South Africa outside the homelands.     

The role for competition policy in economic development: the South African experience

Competition policy is part of the new international orthodoxy in economic policy and, at the same time, was viewed in South Africa as a crucial element of economic transformation. This article reviews the role of competition policy in economic development and the experiences of developing countries such as Brazil and South Korea. It then assesses the effects of competition policy in South Africa after 1994, with the main focus being on the performance of the new competition institutions established in 1999. The case of the steel industry is used to assess the approach and impact of the institutions in a concentrated sector that has simultaneously undergone processes of liberalisation and domestic consolidation.