A new Bureau for Economic Research report indicated that South Africa needs more economic policies to address poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
South Africa needs stronger economic growth and more focused policy interventions to make meaningful progress in reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality, according to a new report by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER).
The report examines a recent working paper by Stellenbosch University economist, Professor Servaas van der Berg, which argues that sustained economic growth can have a greater impact on poverty reduction than efforts aimed solely at lowering inequality.
Dr. Roy Havemann, an economist at the BER, said poverty, unemployment and inequality remain South Africa’s three most pressing socio-economic challenges.
He noted that Van der Berg, one of the country’s leading development economists, concludes in his paper on poverty reduction that even moderate levels of economic growth can significantly reduce poverty over time.
