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The Evolution and Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Ingrid Woolard

    (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town)

  • Murray Leibbrandt

    (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town)

Abstract

At the time of the transition to democracy in 1994, the South African social security system was already notably well developed for a middle income country (Lund 1993; Van der Berg 1997; Case and Deaton 1998). This fact can be ascribed to the way in which the system developed under apartheid as a welfare state for whites which was then incrementally expanded under social and political pressure to incorporate other groups. Thus, at the advent of the new post-apartheid society some important planks for a social assistance system were in place. Since then, a set of policies have been implemented that have expanded this system substantially. Direct spending on cash transfers currently stands at 3.5 percent of GDP. This is more than twice the median spending of 1.4 percent of GDP across developing and transition economies (World Bank 2009).

Suggested Citation

  • Ingrid Woolard & Murray Leibbrandt, 2010. "The Evolution and Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers in South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 51, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    • Handle: RePEc:ldr:wpaper:51
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alex Van Der Merwe, 2006. "Identifying Some Constraints In First Year Economics Teaching And Learning At A Typical South African University Of Technology," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 74(1), pages 150-159, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Reinhard Schiel & Murray Leibbrandt & David Lam, 2016. "Assessing the Impact of Social Grants on Inequality: A South African Case Study," International Economic Association Series, in: Timothy Besley (ed.), Contemporary Issues in Development Economics, chapter 8, pages 112-135, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Plagerson, Sophie. & Ulriksen, Marianne S., 2015. "Cash transfer programmes, poverty reduction and empowerment of women in South Africa," ILO Working Papers 994880883402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. Saini, Shweta & Sharma, Sameedh & Gulati, Ashok & Hussain, Siraj & von Braun, Joachim, 2017. "Indian food and welfare schemes: Scope for digitization towards cash transfers," Discussion Papers 261791, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    4. Neryvia Pillay Bell, 2020. "The impacts of unconditional cash transfers on schooling in adolescence and young adulthood: Evidence from South Africa," Working Papers 821, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    5. Marito Garcia & Charity M. T. Moore, 2012. "The Cash Dividend : The Rise of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2246, December.
    6. Elizabeth Tilley & Isabel Günther, 2016. "The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer on Toilet Use in eThekwini, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-16, October.
    7. Waidler, Jennifer, 2016. "On the fungibility of public and private transfers: A mental accounting approach," MERIT Working Papers 2016-060, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    8. Monchuk, Victoria, 2013. "Poverty reduction and investing in people : the new role of safety nets in Africa experiences from 22 countries," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 83911, The World Bank.
    9. Vimal Ranchhod, 2017. "Household responses to the cessation of grant income: The case of South Africa's Old Age Pension," SALDRU Working Papers 213, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    10. Giorgio d’Agostino & Margherita Scarlato & Silvia Napolitano, 2018. "Do Cash Transfers Promote Food Security? The Case of the South African Child Support Grant," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 27(4), pages 430-456.
    11. Alan Gelb & Christian J. Meyer & Vijaya Ramachandran, 2014. "Development as Diffusion: Manufacturing Productivity and Sub-Saharan Africa's Missing Middle," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-042, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Biyase, Mduduzi, 2018. "Assessing the impact of social grants on household welfare using morning after simulation and PSM approach," MPRA Paper 84477, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Schiel, Reinhard & Leibbrandt, Murray & Lam, David, 2014. "Assessing the impact of social grants on inequality: A South African case study," WIDER Working Paper Series 160, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Bozzoli, Carlos G., 2016. "Orphanhood and fertility in young adults: Evidence from South Africa," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 190-200.
    15. Abel, Martin, 2013. "Unintended labour supply effects of cash transfer programmes: Evidence from South Africa's old age pension," SALDRU Working Papers 114, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    16. Charles Meth, 2011. "How not to present poverty research results: The South African case," SALDRU Working Papers 61, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    17. Eyal, Katherine & Burns, Justine, 2019. "The parent trap: Cash transfers and the intergenerational transmission of depressive symptoms in South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 211-229.
    18. Murray Leibbrandt & James Levinsohn, 2014. "Fifteen Years On: Household Incomes in South Africa," NBER Chapters, in: African Successes, Volume I: Government and Institutions, pages 333-355, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. World Bank, 2020. "Assessing Public Financing for Nutrition in Sri Lanka (2014–2018)," World Bank Publications - Reports 33419, The World Bank Group.
    20. World Bank, 2012. "Protecting Poor and Vulnerable Households in Indonesia," World Bank Publications - Reports 13810, The World Bank Group.
    21. Gelb, Alan & Meyer, Christian J. & Ramachandran, Vijaya, 2014. "Development as diffusion: Manufacturing productivity and sub-Saharan Africa's missing middle," WIDER Working Paper Series 042, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    22. Alan Gelb, Christian Meyer, and Vijaya Ramachandran, 2014. "Development as Diffusion: Manufacturing Productivity and Sub-Saharan Africa’s Missing Middle - Working Paper 357," Working Papers 357, Center for Global Development.
    23. Armando Barrientos & Sony Pellissery, 2012. "Delivering effective social assistance: does politics matter?," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-009-12, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    24. Chloé van Biljon & Dieter von Fintel & Atika Pasha, 2018. "Bargaining to work: the effect of female autonomy on female labour supply," Working Papers 04/2018, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.

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