Assignment (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (LLD )--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Affirmative action with its wide array of manifestations, ranging from BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) to special measures within the Public Procurement sector, was intended to aid South Africa in redressing past patterns of disadvantage and realising a more equal society and economic dispensation. Whether the present policy has achieved this goal or is capable of doing so has been the subject of much controversy. The aim of my thesis is to rethink the justifications and limits of the current race-based affirmative action policy of South Africa in view of current debates, in which both its potential as a tool for eradicating inequality at the individual and systemic levels and the constitutionality and viability of different policy options are contested. In my thesis, a range of conceptual and theoretical tools are employed which are not only derived from the constitutional law literature, but also from jurisprudence, moral philosophy and political theory. Compensatory and distributive theories of justice are analysed and juxtaposed to each other, as are substantive and remedial conceptions of constitutional equality and recognition-based and redistributive notions of politics. Throughout, my focus is on the perspectives that these theories can bring to bear on the justifications and limits of affirmative action. It is also asked whether a re-crafted affirmative action policy would not be better able to reach the intended goals. With this end in mind, alternative affirmative action policies are analysed, namely, a class-based affirmative action policy which uses socio-economic standing as a measure for identifying beneficiaries and an affirmative action policy based on Sen‘s capability approach. The thesis also contains a comparative analysis of the affirmative action policies of Malaysia, Brazil and India. The aim of this study is to ascertain whether there are any valuable lessons to be learnt from their respective successes and failures. It is argued that affirmative action as currently applied has an assortment of negative consequences, ranging from stigmatization of beneficiaries as incapable individuals, the perpetuation of racial division and a detrimental impact on the South African economy as a result of a loss in efficiency. These issues could possibly be better addressed if the specific beneficiaries of affirmative action are rethought. In this regard, it is suggested that, if a class-based affirmative action policy is thought to be too radical, South Africa should follow India‘s example of excluding the ―creamy layer‖ from the current affirmative action beneficiaries. This should ensure that affirmative action benefits are not continually distributed and redistributed to the same individuals, whilst also ensuring that a wider range of individuals do in fact benefit. However, it must be borne in mind that transformation will always be stifled if educational resources and policies do not keep up with social and political policies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Regstellende aksie met sy wye reeks manifestasies, wat strek van SEB (Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging) tot spesiale maatreëls in die voorkeurverkrygingsektor, is oorspronklik ingestel om 'n meer gelyke samelewing en ekonomiese verspreiding te verseker. Of die huidige regstellende aksiebeleid wel hierdie doel bereik het of in staat is om dit te bereik, is egter die onderwerp van heelwat kontroversie. Die doel van hierdie studie is om die regverdigings en beperkings van die huidige rasgebaseerde regstellende aksie beleid van Suid Afrika te heroorweeg in die lig van debatte waarin beide sy potensiaal as hulpmiddel vir die uitskakeling van ongelykheid op individuele en sistemiese vlakke en die grondwetlikheid en lewensvatbaarheid van verskillende beleidsopsies, in geskil gestel word. Die studie maak gebruik van 'n reeks konseptuele en teoretiese hulpmiddels wat nie net vanuit die staatsregtelike literatuur afgelei word nie, maar ook vanuit jurisprudensie, morele filosofie en politieke teorie. Kompenserende geregtigheid ("compensatory justice") en verdelende geregtigheid ("distributive justice") word geanaliseer en naas mekaar gestel, sowel as substantiewe en remediële opvattings van konstitusionele gelykheid en erkenning-gebaseerde en herverdelende opvattings van politiek. Die fokus strek deurentyd op die perspektiewe wat hierdie teorieë kan bied met betrekking tot die regverdigings en beperkings van regstellende aksie. Dit word ook bevraagteken of dit nie moontlik is om die regstellende aksie beleid op so 'n manier te verander binne die raamwerk van die bogenoemde retoriek dat dit 'n groter kans staan om sy bedoelde uitkomste te bereik nie. Met hierdie doel in gedagte word alternatiewe vorme van regstellende aksie beleid, naamlik klasgebaseerde regstellende aksie en 'n beleid gebaseer op Sen se "capability" benadering, geanaliseer. Naas hierdie teoretiese raamwerk word daar ook ‗n regsvergelykende studie gevolg deur ag te slaan op die regstellende aksie beleide van Maleisië, Brasilië en Indië. Die uiteindelike doel hiervan is om vas te stel of daar enige waardevolle lesse te leer is uit hierdie nasies se welslae en mislukkings. Die studie argumenteer dat die regstellende aksie beleid soos wat dit tans toegepas word 'n wye reeks negatiewe gevolge het, wat strek van stigmatisering van begunstigdes as onbekwame individue, tot die voortbestaan van rasse verdeeldheid en die nadelige impak op die Suid Afrikaanse ekonomie as gevolg van die verlies aan doeltreffendheid. Hierdie kwessies kan moontlik beter aangespreek word indien die spesifieke groep begunstigdes herbedink word. In hierdie verband word daar voorgestel dat, indien 'n klasgebaseerde regstellende aksie beleid as te drasties gesien word, Suid Afrika dit moet oorweeg om Indië se voorbeeld te volg en die "romerige laag" ("creamy layer") van die groep regstellende aksie begunstigdes uit te sluit. Dit behoort te verseker dat regstellende aksie voordele nie deurentyd aan dieselfde individue verdeel en herverdeel word nie, en dat 'n groter groep individue daarby baat. Dit moet egter in gedagte gehou word dat transformasie altyd belemmer sal word indien opvoedkundige bronne en beleid nie tred hou met sosiale en politieke beleid nie.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This work empirically examines South African data covering the years 1956-2011 to look into the relationship between FDI and inequality. By investigating how FDI is linked to inequality, policy makers would be better poised to develop policies that optimise on the benefits of FDI without the dampening effect of inequality. The benefits of FDI, particularly to the South African economy, are that it provides capital to finance investment by bridging the savings gap in the country. In addition to that, FDI facilitates transfer of technology and managerial skills from the source country. Moreover, FDI has a positive impact on balance of payment not only because of the impact capital inflow has on balance of payment, but because FDI also promotes exports of the country to world markets. Empirical evidence presented in literature suggests that the FDI-inequality relationship is complex. In some locations, for example in the US, Latin America and in some developing countries, FDI tends to raise income inequality. In other locations evidence is inconclusive. The results of this study showed that there is a negative relationship between inequality and foreign direct investment for the period examined in the study. This finding is not consistent with the a priori expectation that foreign direct investment increases inequality. Contrary to what has been predicted, the findings show that foreign direct investment is likely to reduce inequality. The findings also show that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between GDP and inequality.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public Policy). 17 June 2016 / This paper investigates the nature of relationship between income inequality and consumption expenditure by households. The link between the distribution of income and household spending was determined by exploring the relationship between income inequality and household saving. The econometric estimates show that the propensity of the bottom earners to consume is higher than that of the high income earners. The conclusions from this paper are that; the bottom earners used credit to smooth their consumption expenditure, income inequality has not boosted saving of the top earners and wealth inequality has a minimal effect (although positive) on aggregate consumption Some of these finding are consistent with the theoretical view on income and wealth inequality (Kaldor, 1957) and Aghion et al. (1999). The absence of coping mechanism (such as access to credit and employment), suggests high inequality might result in a decline in the household demand, since the bottom and low earners has high marginal propensities to consume compared with that of the top earners. The existence of imperfect capital markets suggests distributive policies and economic growth are important channels for reducing income and wealth disparities in South Africa. / MB2016

A report on a research study presented to the Department of Social Work School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirement for a degree Master of Arts in Social Work, March 2017 / This research report explores how male Wits university students, who are actively involved in SASCO, a student organisation that advocates for amongst other things, none sexist society, perceive gender transformation and equality. The research approach utilised was qualitative and exploratory in nature with a broad aim of explaining the perceptions of the male students. Informal interaction and semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with ten male student activists and a key informant as methods of data collection. The data, in the form of interview transcripts was than analysed using the IPA approach. Although the participant’s perceptions of gender transformation and equality varied, it was evident, however, that all of the participants agreed that women have been previously and currently disadvantaged in society. The main findings that show the concepts of gender transformation and equality are much more digestible on paper and policies but difficult to implement. It becomes unreasonable to aspect individuals when they get into institutions of higher learning to now unlearn patriarchy and disown patriarchal privileges and benefits that they have enjoyed for most of the lives. The introduction of sustainable gender transformation and equality needs a complete overhaul of gendered societies and societal injustices. Gender injustices should be afforded the same attention that is given to economic inequalities, access to education and political instabilities. / XL2018

Research report in the Masters of Management in Public Policy, 2016 / This research assesses the challenges and prospects of the South African ‘Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) Bill’. The bill, passed by the National Council of Provinces in March, 2014 seeks to reinforce rights and opportunities in advancing gender equality and women empowerment in the country. The scope of this study is national and uses scenario planning to explore the future of the WEGE Bill through reviewing fifteen written parliamentary submissions and eighteen questionnaires. Questionnaires were distributed to representatives from government, civil society organisations and the private sector. The findings of the study revealed that while South Africa has made great legal and policy strides in advancing gender equality, a lot still needs to be done to realise that end. The promulgation of the new WEGE Bill has also not provided sufficient justification or prospects for any greater impact in addressing gender inequalities more than any other existing laws or policies would. Greater political will and more robust processes of consultation and stakeholder engagement are essential to making decisions on future gender equality policy making. / MT2017

Gender inequality, gender oppression and sexism are a violation of human rights. Gender inequality and sexism is a consequence of the power imbalance between men and women. A significant body of research exists on gender and education. Research on gender equality has commonly focused on boys and education, academic performance, masculinity studies, as well as identity formation of adolescent boys. With the emphasis on gender equality and the curriculum implementation, my interest was evoked in terms of engaging boys to achieve gender equality. Given that any work towards social justice requires working with both the oppressed and the oppressor to raise consciousness, identify and name oppression, improve and change attitudes and beliefs, much research on gender oppression and sexism has focused on girls’ experiences. In order to engage men and boys, we need to understand their perceptions of gender, gender equality and sexism and the extent to which they resist or entrench hegemonic masculinity and patriarchal positioning. While many studies focus on women and women’s movements to achieve gender equality, this study acknowledges the significant role that men and boys can play in achieving gender equality. Understanding boys’ perceptions and attitudes towards women and girls is crucial in adopting strategies to interrupt gender oppression. My aim in this study was therefore to investigate the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of young men regarding gender, gender equality and sexism. Focusing on the role that men and boys can play in the achievement of gender equality will not only benefit women and girls, as well as men and boys, but also contribute effectively to the achievement of human rights and the promotion of democracy. I have adopted a qualitative approach to obtain a rich interpretation and description of the young men’s perceptions. This study concluded that while the majority of participants aligned themselves with the dominant discourse of masculinity, there were the minority divergent voices that valued alternative forms of masculinity. They valued equality for women and girls, and challenged both cultural and traditional norms, indicating a desire to relate to women and girls in non-oppressive ways. These voices need to be encouraged as a viable strategy to promote gender equality. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

While the transition to democracy in South Africa extended civil and political rights and freedoms to all South Africans, there has been disagreement over the preferred nature and scope of social rights within post-apartheid society, reflecting debates over the trajectory of economic policy. Appreciable developmental gains have been made by the state over the last quarter-century, yet the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality persist, coupled with mounting popular discontent with the pace of transformation and political accountability. This has led to fundamental questions about social justice, restitution, and the kind of society we wish to promote. Appeals for a more inclusive, transformative social policy have also emerged, arguing that a wider vision of society is required involving multiple government responsibilities and informed by an ethic of equality and social solidarity. Against this background, in this thesis I study the views of the South African public towards economic inequality, general preferences for government-led redistribution, as well as support for social policies intended to promote racial and economic transformation. The research has been guided by several overarching questions: To what extent do South Africans share common general beliefs about material inequality? Does the public exhibit a preference for government redistribution in principle? And how unified or polarised are South Africans in their support for specific redress policies in the country? Responding to these questions has been achieved by drawing on unique, nationally representative data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), which has enabled me to chart social attitudes over a period of almost fifteen years between late 2003 and early 2017. Use has also been made of social citizenship as a guiding conceptual framework to understanding social policy predispositions and analysing attitudinal change. The results demonstrate that the public is united in its awareness of and deep concern about economic inequality. Since the early 2000s, a significant majority has consistently expressed the view that the income gap in the country is too large, articulated a strong preference for a more equitable social structure, and acknowledged the class and social tensions that economic inequality has produced. There is also a preference for a narrowing of earnings disparities, a more generous minimum wage, and regulatory limits on executive pay. While this suggests a desire for fair and legitimate remuneration, the analysis also reveals that South Africans are willing to tolerate fairly high levels of inequality. Nonetheless, these beliefs are generally interpreted as a desire for a more equitable and fair society. This preference for change is reflected in a fairly strong belief that government should assume responsibility for reducing material disparities. One’s social position, mobility history, awareness of inequality, political leaning and racial attitudes all have a bearing on how weak and strong this predisposition is, but the normative demand for political redistribution remains fairly widely shared irrespective of these individual traits. Greater polarisation is however evident with respect to redistributive social policy, especially measures designed to overcome historical racial injustice (affirmative action, sports quotas, and land reform). These intergroup differences converge considerably when referring to class-based policy measures. One surprising finding is the evidence that South Africa’s youngest generation, the so-called ‘Born Frees’, tend to adopt a similar predisposition to redress policy as older generations, thus confounding expectations of a post-apartheid value change. I conclude by arguing that there seems to be a firmer basis for a social compact about preferences for interventions designed to produce a more just society than is typically assumed. Intractably high levels of economic inequality during the country’s first quarter-century of democracy is resulting in a growing recognition of the need for a stronger policy emphasis on economic inequality in South Africa over coming decades if the vision enshrined in the Freedom Charter and the Constitution is to be realised. South Africans may not be able to fully agree about the specific elements that constitute a socially just response to economic inequality. Yet, the common identification of and concern with redressable injustice, coupled with a broad-based commitment to government redistribution and classbased social policies, could serve as a foundation on which to rekindle the solidaristic spirit of 1994 and forge progress towards a more equitable society.

The research seeks to evaluate how the South African government has conceptualised gender through the use of the concepts of WID and GAD. This research has been conducted through the analysis of the Draft Strategic Framework on Gender and Women's Empowerment a document of the Department of Trade and Industry that was formulated to address and redress the issues of gender equality. It has some sound suggestions that seek to identify strategies to improve women empowerment through financial independence. As a result they have used various approaches in order to provide strategies that are mindful of the „needs‟ of the women. Accordingly they have formulated a policy that understands who these women are and have made recommendations of strategies that different groups of women can identify with. They have included the marginalised rural and disabled women and even gone as far as catering for younger women still at school. However there has been concern at the impact that the exclusion of men has contributed, therefore it is important to find ways in which to make men more involved.

LLM / Department of Public Law