Overcoming inequality and structural poverty in South Africa

Abstract

Data indicates that between 1994 and 2008 poverty in South Africa declined marginally, but that inequality continues to increase, and the full impact of the rise in unemployment following the global financial crisis has yet to be fully quantified. Structural poverty and inequality continue to impact adversely on all people living in South Africa, reinforcing the need for an approach that adequately addresses the interrelated nature of poverty and inequality. With this context in mind, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), in partnership with the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII), Isandla Institute, the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC) and the Programme to Support Pro-poor Policy Development (PSPPD) proposed a conference that would draw together the extensive experience and research relating to poverty and inequality that has been undertaken in South Africa to date, and which would address the key question: What has more than a decade of research and policy making about chronic and structural poverty in South Africa taught us about poverty and how best to reduce it as swiftly and sustainably as possible?