Inequality, social comparisons and minimum income aspirations: Evidence from South Africa
- Authors: Posel, Dorrit , Rogan, Michael
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa South Africa -- Economic conditions South Africa -- Social policy Economic development -- Political aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Book , Text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59510 , vital:27621 , ISBN 9780868106359 , DOI 10.21504/10962/59509
- Description: We investigate the formation of minimum income aspirations in South Africa, a country with high rates of poverty together with very high and rising rates of inequality. A number of empirical studies in both developed and developing countries have shown that income aspirations increase with the individual’s own income and with the income of others in their community, relationships which are explained by processes of adaptation through habituation and social comparison. However, the relationship between income aspirations and inequality has received far less empirical attention. We analyse the minimum income question (MIQ) asked in nationally representative household survey from 2008/2009 to test for evidence of aspirations failure among the poor in South Africa, and to investigate whether high levels of local inequality dampen or stimulate minimum income aspirations, and particularly among those living in poverty.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
The myth of a green economy and green jobs: what strategy for labour?
- Authors: Cottle, Eddie
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa South Africa -- Economic conditions South Africa -- Social policy Economic development -- Political aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Book , Text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59500 , vital:27620 , ISBN 9780868106106
- Description: This paper seeks to analyse the policy position of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to that of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in relation to the green economy and green jobs. It is argued that the ITUC position is consistent with the paradigm of the UNEP that the source of the ecological and jobs crisis lays within the problem of a lack of investment in appropriate alternative technologies and not that of capital accumulation and the nature of material production itself. It is further argued that both the ITUC and the UNEP’s paradigm is flawed on the basis of an assumption that technological efficiencies based upon alternative technologies will reduce the carbon footprint of countries. On the contrary this paper argues that the ITUC and UNEP failed to locate their perspective on a historical understanding of the contradiction of technological efficiencies as part of capital accumulation itself and the continuous expansion of production and secondly, that alternative energy production is still reliant of fossil fuels which will not lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, this paper argues that the ITUC does not have an alternative position as the notion of the ‘Just Transition’ is trapped within the existing social democratic, sustainable development paradigm which is committed to a system of capitalist growth. The paper argues that the only viable alternative is for labour to develop and struggle for an alternative eco-socialist society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017