Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS) - (Working papers)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/38293
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Item Who counts as a worker? The politics of claim-making in Africa’s gig economy(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025-12) Castel-Branco, RuthAs member states of the International Labour Organization begin negotiations on minimum labour standards for the platform economy, the question of who qualifies as a “worker” has emerged as a central issue. Until now, platform companies have largely operated outside of national regulatory frameworks, circumventing labour and social protections. While there is broad consensus that regulation is necessary, disagreement persists over how platform workers should be classified and what rights they should be entitled to. Employers’ representatives argue that workers are independent contractors and should be excluded from fundamental rights at work; while workers’ organisations contend that they are disguised employees and should be covered by standard labour protections (ILO, 2025). Research with African platform workers reveals a more complex dynamic. While many platform workers lack autonomy over the labour process, they identify as self-employed and organise politically around this identity (Castel-Branco et al., 2023; Omolo, 2022). How then to extend labour protections to platform workers, without undermining their individual and collective power? This question has been at the heart of longstanding debates about the regulation of the gig economy (Chen, 2023; Meagher, 2021). Drawing on three empirical case studies – domestic work in Angola, platform work in Kenya and street vending in Mozambique – this paper reflects on what we have learnt from past regulatory experiences. The first section explores the contradictions that arise when gig workers are made legible to the state for the purposes of regulation. The second examines the challenges of extending protections to workers who embody contradictory class identities. The third reflects on the implications of regulations for gig workers’ individual and collective power. Ultimately, the paper argues that "worker” is a contested political category rather than a fixed technical classification, the outcome of which reflects the balance of power between competing social forces.Item Rethinking social security financing in the shadow of the digital age: A view from the global South(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, 2025-12-02) Castel-Branco, Ruth; Cook, Sarah; Ewinyu, Arabo K.; Madonko, ThokozileOver the past several decades, there has been a significant expansion in social security coverage across the global South. Yet, access to social security remains highly uneven. In low- and lower-middle-income countries, fewer than one third of the population has effective access to social security benefits – and this proportion is even smaller when considering able-bodied adults of working age. Recent debates have largely centred on expanding tax-financed social assistance. Advocates of this approach argue that contributory schemes tied to employment are inherently exclusionary and increasingly obsolete in a digital age where labour is being displaced by machines. However, the digital age has also eroded the state’s capacity to raise the revenue necessary to finance social security programmes. As a result, most tax financed social security measures are inadequate to meet household’s reproductive needs. Without new sources of financing, social security responses will continue to be constrained by the fiscal space available. Drawing on case studies from across the global South, this paper examines innovative approaches to financing social security systems in the digital age. The first section traces the historical evolution of social security and the contested politics that underlie it. The second section proposes a normative framework for assessing financing options, based on the principles of progressivity, feasibility, sufficiency and sustainability. The third section considers the role of contributory social insurance, noting both their redistributive potential and challenges posed by widespread informality. The fourth section explores new strategies for resource mobilisation in the digital age, including global corporate tax regimes, financial transaction taxes, robot taxes, taxes on digital financial services and sovereign wealth funds. Drawing on the normative framework, the paper evaluates the redistributive potential and political implication of each approach. Ultimately, the paper argues that the financing of social security is not merely a technical matter but a political question of how to restructure redistribution in an increasingly precarious world of work.Item The political economy of social ownership in South Africa: Opportunities to address inequality in transition(AFD- French Development Agency, 2025-03) Lehmann-Grube, Katrina; Mabasa, Khwezi; Taylor, JuliaSouth Africa has high levels of persistent, structural inequality. Social ownership has remerged in recent years as an opportu-nity to address inequality, particularly in the context of the just transition. The just transition refers to the manner in which the transition to a low-carbon economy is achieved. Social ownership is proposed as a means to reduce the concentration of wealth, improve access to resources and labour opportunities for a more equitable society. This research paper examines how models of social ownership in different sectors can be used to address inequality in post-apartheid South Africa to support a just transition. We draw from the literature on social ownership, expert interviews, and case studies in energy, agriculture, mining and finance sectors, with a specific focus on the following ownership models: coope-ratives, public entities, and trade union-led socio-economic development projects. The research findings provide a definition for social ownership, pull out key features of successful social ownership models, and unpacks the ways in which they contribute to reducing inequality. The paper aims to support policymaking and contribute to ongoing debates over economic restructuring and inequality.Item Technological Competition and the World Order(Wits University (Southern Centre for Inequality Studies), 2025-04-04) D Nathan; S RahulThis paper deals with the role of competition and technological domination in changing the world order. It points out that there are constraints in the major Asian economies, which could hamper their ambitions of building technological dominance. Acknowledging that competition and monopolisation dominate the history of technological development in global capitalist history, the paper points to the necessity of international cooperation in meeting contemporary global challenges and staving off new forms of devastating warfare.Item The Care-Climate Nexus - A Conceptual Framework(2025-01) Phalatse, Sonia; Taylor, Julia; Valodia, ImraanAs is widely acknowledged and evidenced, climate change threatens food security and sovereignty; water availability, accessibility and quality; health and livelihoods. Where women bear the primary responsibility of unpaid care work such as food provision, water collection, and care for the young, sick and elderly, climate change disproportionately disadvantages them. This applies to the work of care and, more broadly, to social reproduction. Climate change thus contributes to an ongoing crisis of care, exacerbating the injustices associated with women carrying a disproportionate share of unpaid care. As such, fostering a value for care could be a means through which social and environmental inequalities are equally addressed in an ecological transition. This paper expands on the conceptual linkages of a care-climate nexus, with the aim of supporting climate policy.Item Price discrimination in merger review in South Africa: Implications of recent case precedent(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS) University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025-02-12) Leuner, RahmaMergers have the potential to give firms access to more data from which to draw insights about consumers. This may help firms to better discern which consumers are price insensitive or captive, or exhibit behavioural biases, that they can exploit by charging them higher prices or nudging them towards higher priced options. Based on recent case precedent, we believe that the transfer or sharing of data or techniques in mergers involving price-discriminating firms may be sufficient for meeting the requirement of merger-specificity without there needing to be an increase in market power. Recent local case precedent also provides insight into when mergers impact on just a small group of consumers are likely to matter. It suggests that the competition authorities in the country should be more concerned where consumers are vulnerable and where access to the services/products is particularly important to this group.Item Budget 2025 Preview: Pressures and tensions along the austerity road to fiscal sustainability(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, 2025-02) Sachs, Michael; Amra, Rashaad; Madonko, Thokozile; Willcox, OwenThis policy brief, ahead of the tabling of the 2025 Budget Review, considers the policy context and the fiscal and economic environment in which the Budget will be tabled. It considers the merits, limitations, and likely consequences of the government’s approach to budget policy over the medium term, as contained in the 2024 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), which redoubled efforts to consolidate public finances while attempting to promote capital spending. Since the MTBPS, several material expenditure pressures have emerged, some of which were flagged in the Public Economy Project’s (PEP) 2024 MTBPS analysis, and the economic outlook has been revised. Based on this, the Public Economy Project’s revised outlook for public finance finds that the government’s ambitious plan to stabilise debt over the medium term is unlikely to be realised.Item Intersectionality in Action: learnings, challenges & recommendations from IDRC-supported research in the global South(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS), 2023) Dawson, Hannah J.; Lynch, Ingrid; Mhlana, Siviwe; Mokhema, SeipatiThe call for integrating intersectionality into development research and practice has surged in recent years. Advocates consider it a crucial perspective for understanding the interconnected forms in which oppression manifests and is experienced by marginalised groups of people. This approach is seen as valuable in crafting targeted, context-specific policy interventions to address diverse social problems. Despite its growing prominence and alignment with social justice agendas, confusion persists about what intersectionality entails. Ongoing debates centre on its origins, purpose and distinctiveness when compared to other conceptual tools and transformative methodologies. Existing intersectionality research often prioritises scholarship from the global North, particularly North America, which overlooks the diverse realities and perspectives of the global South. It is essential to highlight that intersectionality, as both a concept and a way of thinking, was present in various feminist traditions in the global South well before gaining prominence in the United States and academic discourse. Given the lack of a precise definition for intersectionality, scholars and practitioners increasingly emphasise the importance of investigating its application in specific research contexts and practical applications. The collaborative initiative "Promoting Intersectional Development Research," led by the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS) at the University of the Witwatersrand and Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), has provided an opportunity to interrogate the concept of intersectionality and critically evaluate its relevance for development research in and for the global South. The principal objective of this project is to “understand, inform and promote intersectional approaches to development research” across different programme initiatives of the IDRC. More specifically, the project aims to: 1. Document the diverse application of an intersectional approach in IDRC-supported research projects. 2. Synthesise the lessons on the benefits, limits and barriers of incorporating an intersectional approach into research, and identify opportunities and challenges for applying intersectionality to research dissemination, policy application and engagement. 3. Identify the needs for strengthening capacity among IDRC staff and partners to enhance understanding and facilitate practical learning about the application of an intersectional lens to development research. To achieve these objectives, SCIS partnered with eight organisations to examine their application of intersectionality in an IDRC-supported research project. The resulting case studies demonstrate intersectionality in action, exploring how diverse researchers and practitioners apply its concepts and principles. These studies reflect on the relevance and usefulness of employing an intersectional lens within diverse contexts and projects that employ a range of epistemological and methodological approaches. They offer insights into both the alignment and tensions associated with adopting an intersectional lens.Item Tax the super-rich for the right to the city(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, 2024-10-07) Veloso, SérgioThe inequality in Brazilian cities is evident: few live in luxury while the majority face precarious conditions. High-end apartments drive up rents, forcing out long-time residents. This scenario reflects an injustice that needs to be addressed. The richest 1% in Brazil owns almost half of the wealth, while millions survive with difficulty. This concentration worsens social exclusion in cities. During the recent G20 Finance Ministers meeting, Brazil proposed a 2% tax on the super-rich, which could generate 250 billion dollars per year. These resources could improve infrastructure, housing and community services. This engagement paper contributes to the ongoing discourse around tax reform in Brazil and unpacks Brazil's regressive system, and outlines how taxing the wealthy can contribute to reclaiming cities and restoring justice.Item Taxar os super-ricos pelo direito à cidade!(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, 2024-10-02) Veloso, SérgioA desigualdade nas cidades brasileiras é evidente: poucos vivem em luxo enquanto a maioria enfrenta a precariedade. Apartamentos de alto padrão elevam os aluguéis, expulsando moradores antigos. Esse cenário reflete uma injustiça que precisa ser combatida. O 1% mais rico no Brasil detém quase metade da riqueza, enquanto milhões sobrevivem com dificuldade. Essa concentração agrava a exclusão social nas cidades. Durante a recente reunião de Ministros de Finanças do G20, o Brasil propôs uma taxa de 2% sobre os super-ricos, que poderia gerar 250 bilhões de dólares por ano. Esses recursos poderiam melhorar infraestrutura, moradias e serviços comunitários.