 South African social security under apartheid and beyondDevelopment Southern Africa, 1997, vol. 14, issue 4, 481-503 Abstract: Under apartheid, the trappings of a welfare state for whites were created. Over time, social security was gradually extended to other groups, and recently social assistance benefits were equalised. This left South Africa with high social security levels for a middle-income developing country. However, the social security system still largely reflects the historical needs of vulnerable white groups under apartheid, among whom unemployment was minimal, given their preferential access to jobs and education. Thus the social security system now has inadequate provision for the most vulnerable, the unemployed. In contrast, four out of five pensioners receive a means-tested social pension — a major poverty-alleviating factor in rural black communities. This article analyses the social security system against the backdrop of apartheid and the more recent democratisation, and assesses its major deficiencies, the forces acting for its expansion and the binding fiscal constraint. Date: 1997 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:deveza:v:14:y:1997:i:4:p:481-503 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/03768359708439982 Access Statistics for this article Development Southern Africa is currently edited by Marie Kirsten More articles in Development Southern Africa from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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