Jeremy Seekings

Poverty and inequality in South Africa have rightly attracted considerable attention. Absolute poverty rates in South Africa – calculated using standardized measures of monetary income – have long been and remain exceptionally high given the country’s GDP per capita. This is, of course, because South Africa has a very unequal income distribution. High income poverty and inequality are rooted in South Africa’s...

High levels of financial assistance and physical care are needed and given in South Africa. Exceptionally high unemployment, persistent poverty and HIV-AIDS mean that approximately three quarters of the population of about 50 million – including 20 million children, three million non-working elderly people, one million disabled working-age men and women and a further 12 million unemployed – require some kind of care or financial support. As...