Inequality in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 174-192
Author(s):  
Murray Leibbrandt ◽  
Fabio Andrés Díaz Pabón
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Spatial Inequality ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
The World ◽  
Policy Challenge ◽  
Low Levels

Post-apartheid South Africa inherited one of the most unequal societies in the world in 1994 and inequality has featured prominently as a key socio-economic and policy challenge over the post-apartheid period. Yet, despite policy interventions aimed at reducing inequality, these high levels of inequality remain in place. Such persistence demands a better understanding of the mechanisms that reproduce and create inequalities. We start by consolidating the extensive research on South Africa’s income inequality and the emerging literature on wealth inequality. We go on to explore the interactions between these economic inequalities, spatial inequality and two key categorical inequalities, gender and race. These inequalities work collectively to stifle opportunity and agency in contemporary South Africa. We show this through the lens of recent work on social mobility that highlights very low levels of social mobility and the precariousness of upward mobility. We conclude by reviewing policies to overcome inequality against this prevailing reality. Some of these policies have addressed important drivers of inequality, but in isolation. This chapter has shown that such an approach will have limited effectiveness. A coherent, integrated approach is required. Derivatively, there is an urgent need for further interdisciplinary research on how to break these inequality traps.

How Mobile Is India?

Uneven Odds ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 121-170
Author(s):  
Divya Vaid
Keyword(s):  
Structural Change ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Upward Mobility ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Relative Mobility ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
The World ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Social Fluidity

Social mobility includes absoulte mobility, that is, raw numbers of people who move up, down, or remain stable; and relative mobility, that is, mobility controlling for structural change. This chapter draws out the importance of both types of mobility. Further, the intriguing pattern for women’s mobility, where women display more stability than men intergenerationally, contrary to research in most of the world, is deconstructed. While we observe an enduring trend, preceding ‘liberalization’, of the expansion of the higher salariat, and a retrenchment in agriculture leading to some amount of net upward mobility in absolute terms, we also observe low levels of social fluidity which provide an indicator of the unequal opportunity structures in Indian society.

Invasive Shot Hole Borers Euwallacea fornicatus, E. kuroshio, and E. perbrevis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

EDIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Demian F. Gomez ◽  
Jiri Hulcr ◽  
Daniel Carrillo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Ambrosia Beetles ◽  
Invasive Insects ◽  
The World ◽  
And Control

Invasive species, those that are nonnative and cause economic damage, are one of the main threats to ecosystems around the world. Ambrosia beetles are some of the most common invasive insects. Currently, severe economic impacts have been increasingly reported for all the invasive shot hole borers in South Africa, California, Israel, and throughout Asia. This 7-page fact sheet written by Demian F. Gomez, Jiri Hulcr, and Daniel Carrillo and published by the School of Forest Resources and Conservation describes shot hole borers and their biology and hosts and lists some strategies for prevention and control of these pests. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr422

The World Economic Forum Principles on "Climate Governance on Corporate Boards": can soft law help to face climate change around the world?

2020 ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Sabrina Bruno
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Financial Factor ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic

Climate change is a financial factor that carries with it risks and opportunities for companies. To support boards of directors of companies belonging to all jurisdictions, the World Economic Forum issued in January 2019 eight Principlescontaining both theoretical and practical provisions on: climate accountability, competence, governance, management, disclosure and dialogue. The paper analyses each Principle to understand scope and managerial consequences for boards and to evaluate whether the legal distinctions, among the various jurisdictions, may undermine the application of the Principles or, by contrast, despite the differences the Principles may be a useful and effective guidance to drive boards' of directors' conduct around the world in handling climate change challenges. Five jurisdictions are taken into consideration for this comparative analysis: Europe (and UK), US, Australia, South Africa and Canada. The conclusion is that the WEF Principles, as soft law, is the best possible instrument to address boards of directors of worldwide companies, harmonise their conduct and effectively help facing such global emergency.

Social Design for Services Framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie SARANTOU ◽  
Satu MIETTINEN
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Research Group ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Service Design ◽  
Social Design ◽  
Practical Action ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

This paper addresses the fields of social and service design in development contexts, practice-based and constructive design research. A framework for social design for services will be explored through the survey of existing literature, specifically by drawing on eight doctoral theses that were produced by the World Design research group. The work of World Design researcher-designers was guided by a strong ethos of social and service design for development in marginalised communities. The paper also draws on a case study in Namibia and South Africa titled ‘My Dream World’. This case study presents a good example of how the social design for services framework functions in practice during experimentation and research in the field. The social design for services framework transfers the World Design group’s research results into practical action, providing a tool for the facilitation of design and research processes for sustainable development in marginal contexts.

International Listening Post report summary: the world at the dawn of 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-124
Author(s):  
Sandy Henderson ◽  
Ulrike Beland ◽  
Dimitrios Vonofakos
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Faroe Islands ◽  
The South ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk

On or around 9 January 2019, twenty-two Listening Posts were conducted in nineteen countries: Canada, Chile, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Germany (Frankfurt and Berlin), Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy (two in Milan and one in the South), Peru, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and the UK. This report synthesises the reports of those Listening Posts and organises the data yielded by them into common themes and patterns.

An Econometric Analysis on the Relationship between Globalisation and Inequality in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-89
Author(s):  
Jacques de Jongh
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Causality Analysis ◽  
Global Integration ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Impact

Globalisation has had an unprecedented impact on the development and well-being of societies across the globe. Whilst the process has been lauded for bringing about greater trade specialisation and factor mobility many have also come to raise concerns on its impact in the distribution of resources. For South Africa in particular this has been somewhat of a contentious issue given the country's controversial past and idiosyncratic socio-economic structure. Since 1994 though, considerable progress towards its global integration has been made, however this has largely coincided with the establishment of, arguably, the highest levels of income inequality the world has ever seen. This all has raised several questions as to whether a more financially open and technologically integrated economy has induced greater within-country inequality (WCI). This study therefore has the objective to analyse the impact of the various dimensions of globalisation (economic, social and political) on inequality in South Africa. Secondary annual time series from 1990 to 2018 were used sourced from the World Bank Development indicators database, KOF Swiss Economic Institute and the World Inequality database. By using different measures of inequality (Palma ratios and distribution figures), the study employed two ARDL models to test the long-run relationships with the purpose to ensure the robustness of the results. Likewise, two error correction models (ECM) were used to analyse the short-run dynamics between the variables. As a means of identifying the casual effects between the variables, a Toda-Yamamoto granger causality analysis was utilised. Keywords: ARDL, Inequality, Economic Globalisation; Social Globalisation; South Africa

Is the Acidic pH of the External Auditory Canal Playing a Significant Role in the Treatment of Acute Otitis Externa?

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2304-2305
Author(s):  
Oana Ruxandra Iana ◽  
Dragos Cristian Stefanescu ◽  
Viorel Zainea ◽  
Razvan Hainarosie
Keyword(s):  
External Auditory Canal ◽  
Otitis Externa ◽  
Proton Pumps ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
External Ear ◽  
Ph Values ◽  
The World ◽  
Subcutaneous Tissues ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Value Changes

Variable pH values for skin have been reported in the literature, all within the acidic range, varying from 4.0 up to 7. 0. The origin of the acidic pH remains conjectural, and several factors have been incriminated with this role, such as eccrine and sebaceous secretions as well as proton pumps. Keeping low levels of pH prevents microbial dispersal as well as multiplication. The skin in the external auditory canal is also covered with this acidic mantle with antimicrobial value. Changes of pH in the external ear can lead to acute otitis externa. This condition is defined by the inflammation and infection of the cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues of the external auditory canal. 10% of the world�s population may suffer from acute otitis externa at least once in their lifetime. This paper aims to consolidate the relevance of an acidic pH in the healthy external ear and its relation to the pathogenesis and treatment of otitis externa through a prospective and interventional clinical study on 80 patients who presented to the outpatient department at Prof. Dr D. Hociota ENT Institute in Buch

Water and sanitation policies for improving health in South Africa: overcoming the institutional legacy of apartheid

Water Policy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 627-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edina Sinanovic ◽  
Sandi Mbatsha ◽  
Stephen Gundry ◽  
Jim Wright ◽  
Clas Rehnberg
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
The South ◽  
Financing System ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
New Policies

The burden of water-related disease is closely related to both the socio-economic situation and public health issues like access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services. Poverty eradication, through improved access to water and sanitation, is the South African government's major priority. This is partly achieved through subsidising the cost of water and sanitation provision to the poor in rural areas. Whilst the new policies have made a remarkable impact on improved access to water and sanitation services, a general problem since the new approach in 1994 has been the lack of integration of policies for water and sanitation and health. This paper analyses the policies concerning rural water supply and sanitation in South Africa. It considers the structure of institutions, the division of responsibilities and legislated and financial capacity of the South Africa's water sector. A more integrated approach for the policies aiming at water access, sanitation and health is needed. In addition, as the local government's capacity to implement different programmes is limited, a review of the financing system is necessary.

The Whole World in a Book

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
White Men ◽  
Nation State ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
Language And Literature ◽  
The World ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Brazilian Sign Language

The nineteenth century saw a new wave of dictionaries, many of which remain household names. Those dictionaries didn’t just store words; they represented imperial ambitions, nationalist passions, religious fervour, and utopian imaginings. The Whole World in a Book explores a period in which globalization, industrialization, and social mobility were changing language in unimaginable ways. Dictionaries in the nineteenth century became more than dictionaries: they were battlefields between prestige languages and lower-status dialects; national icons celebrating the language and literature of the nation-state; and sites of innovative authorship where middle and lower classes, volunteers, women, colonial subjects, the deaf, and missionaries joined the ranks of educated white men in defining how people communicated and understood the world around them. This volume investigates dictionaries in the nineteenth century covering languages as diverse as Canadian French, English, German, Frisian, Japanese, Libras (Brazilian sign language), Manchu, Persian, Quebecois, Russian, Scots, and Yiddish.

The Age of Em

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Hanson
Keyword(s):  
Career Paths ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Moral Progress ◽  
Fast Computer ◽  
The World ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Detailed Picture

Robots may one day rule the world, but what is a robot-ruled Earth like? Many think the first truly smart robots will be brain emulations or ems. Scan a human brain, then run a model with the same connections on a fast computer, and you have a robot brain, but recognizably human. Train an em to do some job and copy it a million times: an army of workers is at your disposal. When they can be made cheaply, within perhaps a century, ems will displace humans in most jobs. In this new economic era, the world economy may double in size every few weeks. Some say we can't know the future, especially following such a disruptive new technology, but Professor Robin Hanson sets out to prove them wrong. Applying decades of expertise in physics, computer science, and economics, he uses standard theories to paint a detailed picture of a world dominated by ems. While human lives don't change greatly in the em era, em lives are as different from ours as our lives are from those of our farmer and forager ancestors. Ems make us question common assumptions of moral progress, because they reject many of the values we hold dear. Read about em mind speeds, body sizes, job training and career paths, energy use and cooling infrastructure, virtual reality, aging and retirement, death and immortality, security, wealth inequality, religion, teleportation, identity, cities, politics, law, war, status, friendship and love. This book shows you just how strange your descendants may be, though ems are no stranger than we would appear to our ancestors. To most ems, it seems good to be an em.

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