Employment guarantee or minimum income?: workfare and welfare in developing countries

Seekings, Jeremy

Employment guarantee or minimum income?: workfare and welfare in developing countries

Journal Article

2006

Permanent link to this Item

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19484

Authors

Seekings, Jeremy

Journal Title

International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment

Link to Journal

http://www.inderscienceonline.com/toc/ijewe/1/1

Publisher

Inderscience

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Centre for Social Science Research(CSSR)

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

In many 'developing' countries widespread poverty is linked to landlessness and unemployment. Two possible responses to such poverty are employment guarantee (or public works) programmes and cash transfers. In general, low-wage job creation is the preferred option of both elites and citizens, but in South Africa cash transfers through a minimum income programme might, perversely, be more viable politically and effective more broadly in terms of poverty alleviation. The relative viability and efficacy of employment guarantees and cash transfers depends primarily on prevailing wages in the 'market'. In a high-wage economy such as South Africa, the political power of organised labour is generally sufficient to prevent low-wage employment creation in public works programmes. In the South African context - in contrast to low-wage settings such as India or Ethiopia - the extension of public welfare might be more viable than an employment guarantee, although the political obstacles should not be under-estimated.