The 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Region

dc.contributor.authorSeekings, Jeremy
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-25T09:55:26Z
dc.date.available2016-04-25T09:55:26Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.date.updated2016-04-25T07:50:27Z
dc.description.abstractEnthusiasm for the idea of a 'developmental state' emerged in South Africa in the early 1990s, re-surfaced in the mid-2000s, and re-emerged yet again after 2007. The idea appealed to the statist instincts of many ANC leaders, and got momentum because of the perceived importance of shifting the economy onto a more inclusive and faster growth path. After twenty years of ANC government, however, growth remained sluggish and non-inclusive. The standard explanations are insufficient: Neither politics within the ANC nor international agreements nor state incapacity prevented the state developing interventionist industrial policies in some sectors. We offer a fourth part of the story: The preferred mix of policies associated with the developmental state in practice was inappropriate for the South African context. By encouraging capital- and skill-intensification, public policies retarded growth and inclusivity, and reproduced rather than reduced poverty and inequality. The South African state has, however, redistributed through cash transfers very efficiently. Pro-poor outcomes are more likely if the state builds on the strengths of its welfare state and avoids heavy investments in capital- and skill-intensive industry that are favoured by the would-be developmental state.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSeekings, J. (2015). <i>The 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Region</i> University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Social Science Research(CSSR). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19178en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSeekings, Jeremy <i>The 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Region.</i> University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Social Science Research(CSSR), 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19178en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSeekings, J. (2015). The 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Region.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Working Paper AU - Seekings, Jeremy AB - Enthusiasm for the idea of a 'developmental state' emerged in South Africa in the early 1990s, re-surfaced in the mid-2000s, and re-emerged yet again after 2007. The idea appealed to the statist instincts of many ANC leaders, and got momentum because of the perceived importance of shifting the economy onto a more inclusive and faster growth path. After twenty years of ANC government, however, growth remained sluggish and non-inclusive. The standard explanations are insufficient: Neither politics within the ANC nor international agreements nor state incapacity prevented the state developing interventionist industrial policies in some sectors. We offer a fourth part of the story: The preferred mix of policies associated with the developmental state in practice was inappropriate for the South African context. By encouraging capital- and skill-intensification, public policies retarded growth and inclusivity, and reproduced rather than reduced poverty and inequality. The South African state has, however, redistributed through cash transfers very efficiently. Pro-poor outcomes are more likely if the state builds on the strengths of its welfare state and avoids heavy investments in capital- and skill-intensive industry that are favoured by the would-be developmental state. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - The 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Region TI - The 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Region UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19178 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/19178
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSeekings J. The 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Region. 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19178en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentCentre for Social Science Research(CSSR)en_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_ZA
dc.titleThe 'Developmental' and 'Welfare' State in South Africa: Lessons for the Southern African Regionen_ZA
dc.typeWorking Paperen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceResearch paperen_ZA
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