Post-Apartheid South Africa: Poverty And Distribution Trends In An Era Of Globalization

South Africa's transition to democracy in 1994 created new possibilities for economic policy. Economic liberalization brought sustained, if unspectacular, growth that reversed the long decline in per capita incomes, but left its scars in much job shedding associated with business becoming internationally competitive. This accords with international evidence that trade liberalization takes time to realize positive employment effects. Disappointing employment growth in the face of an expanding labourforce fed rising unemployment. However, using poverty estimates from a combination of sources, this paper demonstrates that poverty nevertheless declined quite substantially after the turn of the century.