Main Findings on Free Basic Services from National Treasury Fiscal Incidence Report
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP14/2009Publication date: 2009
Author(s):
[protected email address] (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch)
This study analyses the extent to which the poor benefit from Free Basic Services (FBS), which include free basic water, free basic electricity, free basic sanitation and free basic solid waste removal. Unfortunately, none of the data sets analysed could be used to conduct fiscal incidence analysis because none of the surveys asked appropriate questions with regard to consumption/usage or tariffs/costs of FBS, the non-survey data from DWAF and NT were self-reported from municipalities, with several municipalities and district municipalities not providing any information at all, and the main data set provided by National Treasury was found to be riddled with inconsistencies and errors. The easiest and ideal solution to the data problem would be to have municipalities report household consumption data at monthly intervals throughout.
JEL Classification:H4, H5
Keywords:Publicly provided goods, National government expenditures
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26 Apr 2024The most anticipated data release of the week was yesterday's US GDP print, which created more turmoil than usual by not meeting expectations. Growth was much weaker than expected in Q1, while price pressure remained red hot. Meanwhile, the local data calendar was quiet, with a slight acceleration in factory gate inflation and a welcome uptick in the...
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