Publication Date
12-1-2024
Description
This paper documents the unequal and oppressive structures erected during apartheid, and the extent to which the vested interests resisted efforts to transform post-apartheid South Africa into a stable society featuring human development for all. By tracing key aspects in the evolution and institutional configuration of the South African economy, the paper highlights the institutional structures present in contemporary South Africa. Subsequently, the paper describes the manner in which the vested interests maintained and even strengthened their control of the South African economy since the fall of apartheid, resulting in a system that is failing a majority of the population. In the face of increasingly severe crises, change is inevitable. Drawing on the literature on economic systems, political settlements and radical institutional economics, the paper analyzes whether incremental change can address the polycrisis in South Africa, or if more radical change is warranted, and the areas in which radical change is most needed to improve the conditions of the common people of South Africa. In determining the path of incremental or radical change, the matrix of institutions and power structures and the distribution of economic rents must be analyzed as they will determine the consequences that are likely to result.
Type
Working Paper(unpublished)
Department
Economics