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        <title>Polity.org.za | Econ3x3</title>
        <description><![CDATA[Econ3x3 is an independent forum for critical public debate on unemployment and employment, income distri­bution and inclu­sive growth in South Africa. It publishes accessible research based contribu­tions and expert commentaries.]]></description>
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            <title>The economy we are waiting for may never arrive: we need to imagine new paths to development</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/the-economy-we-are-waiting-for-may-never-arrive-we-need-to-imagine-new-paths-to-development-2026-08-27</link>
            <description><![CDATA[South Africa’s development challenge is not only economic; it is also one of imagination. We need to find new areas where growth, innovation, and opportunity can thrive. South Africa spends a great deal of time waiting. We are waiting for growth to return, for investment to arrive, for transformation to work, for unemployment to fall – waiting for an economy capable of delivering broad-based inclusion. Yet despite three decades of reform, many of these expectations have remained stubbornly unmet.]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:03:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Flawed methods lead to dangerous conclusions on SRD lifeline</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/flawed-methods-lead-to-dangerous-conclusions-on-srd-lifeline-2026-08-14</link>
            <description><![CDATA[This article critiques two 2026 academic papers that argue that the Covid-19 SRD grant led to reductions in household income and expenditure and food security. We show that a failure to understand the design of the grant led to flawed methods and incorrect interpretation of results. The authors conclude that cash transfer programmes can have negative “unintended consequences”, when in fact their results show that the grant is overwhelmingly received by income-insecure households, but that its value is too low to adequately alleviate food insecurity. This article responds to two recent papers by economists Lateef Bello and Dorah Dubihlela on the welfare effects of South Africa’s Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. These papers grabbed our attention, for two reasons.]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:20:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>Creamer Media Reporter  </editor>
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            <title>Sweet smell of success: how South Africa overtook Spain as the world's largest citrus exporter ...</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/sweet-smell-of-success-how-south-africa-overtook-spain-as-the-worlds-largest-citrus-exporter-by-volume-2026-08-06</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Last year, South Africa overtook Spain to become the world’s largest exporter of citrus. It marked a turning point in the world’s citrus industry and in the country’s focus on high-value agricultural exports. What has driven this move, and what challenges does the sector face today? Introduction]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:48:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>How tariffs on manufacturing affect employment in the services sector</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/how-tariffs-on-manufacturing-affect-employment-in-the-services-sector-2026-07-30</link>
            <description><![CDATA[South Africa faces unemployment and deindustrialisation. Manufacturing tariff cuts in the 1990s were expected to reallocate workers into services. Our research finds the opposite: municipalities with larger tariff cuts experienced weaker employment growth in manufacturing and services. Wages did not adjust – the shock was absorbed through job losses. Negative spillovers from manufacturing constrained services from absorbing displaced workers; they either exited the labour force or migrated to other municipalities. Introduction]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:24:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Rethinking title deeds in former homelands: what do households want?</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/rethinking-title-deeds-in-former-homelands-what-do-households-want-2026-07-22</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In significant parts of rural South Africa, people occupy land not through formal title deeds but through a system of land allocation rooted in the apartheid and pre-apartheid eras. Would formal title deeds improve economic wellbeing and promote investment? Perhaps. But in a survey of rural dwellers in seven former homelands, most residents said they did not want this. Introduction]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:40:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>Creamer Media Reporter  </editor>
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            <title>Why we should count our chickens</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/why-we-should-count-our-chickens-2026-07-16</link>
            <description><![CDATA[South Africa has 168 million chickens. What does their location tell us about food security and the resilience of this key agricultural sub-sector? 1. A sector built on scale]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:16:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>Econ3x3  </editor>
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            <title>How the legacy of apartheid geography shapes housing wealth</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/how-the-legacy-of-apartheid-geography-shapes-housing-wealth-2026-06-24</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Housing wealth accounts for up to 65% of the total assets of the average South African household, yet its potential to reduce inequality is reduced by the persistent “stickiness” of apartheid geography. Using 2008-2017 data, the authors find that over 90% of individuals from marginalised groups remain in areas historically designated for their race, and even those who move to formal urban centres face returns that are deeply stratified by race. As the absolute gap in housing wealth between white and African urban residents continues to widen, the research highlights the emergence of “spatial traps”—where state-provided housing offers physical shelter but fails as a wealth-building asset. Housing accounts for between 40 and 65 percent of the total assets of the average South African household. But whether rising property prices help reduce or reproduce inequality depends on the dynamics between housing markets in urban, rural, formal, and informal areas.]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:20:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Stuck at the start, 50 years on: Youth unemployment and exclusion in a low-growth, unequal, ...</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/stuck-at-the-start-50-years-on-youth-unemployment-and-exclusion-in-a-low-growth-unequal-changing-economy-2026-06-19</link>
            <description><![CDATA[On June 16, 1976, thousands of school students in Soweto took to the streets to protest against Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. But the grievances were far more deeply rooted: they were essentialy about inferior education and economic exclusion. Today, 50 years on, many young people still battle exclusion in spite of better education opportunities. And racial inequalities persist, as even those with education struggle to find meaningful jobs. This year marks 50 years since the June 16 ...]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:07:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Illicit alcohol trade: A growing problem or an industry narrative?</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/illicit-alcohol-trade-a-growing-problem-or-an-industry-narrative-2026-06-11</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The National Treasury has proposed substantially increasing excise taxes on alcohol. In response, the alcohol industry commissioned its own research arguing that the illicit alcohol trade has increased by 55% from 2017 to 2024. But the revenue figures from Treasury tell a different story. In the past few years, the alcohol industry has regularly warned that the illicit trade in alcohol is increasing. [1;2;3;4;5] The reasoning behind this is straightforward: if the industry can convince National Treasury that illicit trade is on the rise, it may weaken the Treasury's determination to raise alcohol excise taxes.]]></description>
            <author>Econ3x3  </author>
            <category>Econ3x3</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:10:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Land reform that works: What successful farmers can teach us </title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/land-reform-that-works-what-successful-farmers-can-teach-us-2026-06-04</link>
            <description><![CDATA[A popular narrative holds that land reform has failed. But evidence from a study across four provinces tells a different story. Success is not about land reform alone, but about building capable farmers. More than three decades after the end of apartheid, land reform remains one of South Africa’s most politically charged and economically important policies. Since 1994, the government has sought to redress historical land dispossession through restitution, redistribution, and tenure reform. Yet public debate often frames land reform as a failure, pointing to underutilised farms, wasted public funds, and declining agricultural output.]]></description>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:38:00 +0200</pubDate>
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