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Ethnicity is not public service destiny: The political logic of service distribution in South Africa

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  • John Porten
  • Inbok Rhee
  • Clark Gibson

Abstract

Millions of South Africans in thousands of demonstrations have protested the unequal allocation of public services. Despite the African National Congress's promise to reduce the disparities generated by apartheid, the level of public services remains highly uneven across the country. Most studies of service provision in Africa assume that politicians will target their co-ethnics; other 'diversity deficit' literature hypothesizes that a high level of ethnic diversity undermines service provision from the start.

Suggested Citation

  • John Porten & Inbok Rhee & Clark Gibson, 2021. "Ethnicity is not public service destiny: The political logic of service distribution in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-63, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-63
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Posner,Daniel N., 2005. "Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521541794.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public service delivery; Ethnicity; Africa; Distribution; Development policy; South Africa; Public goods;
    All these keywords.

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