The long walk to economic freedom after apartheid, and the road ahead
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP11/2016Publication date: 2016
Author(s):
As South Africa moves further away from the political transition of 1994, the economic history of the post-apartheid era is coming up for debate. The optimism generated by the ANC’s early successes must now, after more than two decades of democracy, be tempered by its conspicuous failures. Not all is lost, though. African growth, technological innovation and private-sector participation in public sector services offer credible opportunities for accelerated development, but will only be effective if policy-makers are cognizant of the political realities. The long walk to economic freedom for many will, unfortunately, continue along a rocky gravel road.
JEL Classification:O55, N17
Keywords:South African economy, democracy, post-apartheid, poverty, inequality, growth, development, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, Trevor Manuel
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BER Weekly
19 Apr 2024There was good news for global growth this week – with China's Q1 GDP beating expectations (see international section) and the IMF lifting its global growth forecast for 2024 once more. SA economic data releases, however, were mixed, with a welcome downtick in CPI inflation but relatively poor internal trade data. Most of the world’s economic policymakers...
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BER Weekly
19 Apr 2024There was good news for global growth this week – with China's Q1 GDP beating expectations (see international section) and the IMF lifting its global growth forecast for 2024 once more. SA economic data releases, however, were mixed, with a welcome downtick in CPI inflation but relatively poor internal trade data. Most of the world’s economic policymakers...
Read the full issue