1. Academic Wits Research Publications (Faculties submissions)

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37774

For queries relating to content and technical issues, please contact IR specialists via this email address : openscholarship.library@wits.ac.za, Tel: 011 717 4652 or 011 717 1954

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 27

Debating South Africa's approach to a lower inflation target
(University of the Witwatersrand, Joahnnesburg, 2025) Willcox, Owen
This policy brief argues against lowering of the inflation target. A lower inflation target will worsen South Africa’s fiscal dynamics, leading to deeper and longer fiscal austerity, which will result in lower economic growth and employment. The arguments of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) for a lower target are cogent but ignore the impact on government debt, and hence the negative impact on the macroeconomy at large.
Fighting Inequality: Progress Made Under G20 Brazil and the Priorities for South Africa
(2024-12-05) David Francis; David Francis
In the latter half of the 20th century, notable progress was made globally in addressing poverty and hunger, with significant reductions in poverty in large parts of the world. However, alongside these achievements came a rapid growth in inequalities of income and wealth within countries, alongside the persistence of inequalities in race and gender, among others.
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, Rahma
Mergers 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.
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, Owen
This 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.
Impact of witnessing abuse of their mother and childhood trauma on men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence in the cross-sectional UN multi-country study on men and violence in Asia and the Pacific
(Elsevier, 2025-01) Jewkes, Rachel; Shai, Nwabisa; Chirwa, Esnat; Naved, Ruchira Tabassum; Abrahams, Naeema; Ramsoomar, Leane; Dekel, Bianca; Gibbs, Andrew; Nothling, Jani; Willan, Samantha
Trauma exposure and witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV) in childhood are recognised risk factors for IPV. Using the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific dataset, we describe the pathways through which they influence adult IPV perpetration. Methods: In nine sites, from six countries, data were collected in a two-stage, randomly-selected household survey, with one man aged 18–49 years interviewed per house. 8379 interviews were completed with ever partnered men in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea (Bougainville) and Sri Lanka. We present a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to understand paths through which childhood trauma and witnessing IPV impacted perpetration of physical or sexual IPV in adulthood. Results: Among the men, 25.5% had witnessed IPV, 47.0% had perpetrated physical or sexual IPV. Both wit nessing IPV and childhood trauma elevated the likelihood of such perpetration. The SEM showed four paths from witnessing IPV and childhood trauma to the latent variable for physical/sexual IPV perpetration. One was direct and three indirect. Paths were mediated by food insecurity, depression, and a latent variable measuring gender inequitable and anti-social masculinities. The masculinity variable indicators were drug use, harmful alcohol use, bullying, gang membership, fighting with other men, having sex with a sex worker and having raped a non partner. The direct and indirect effects showed both childhood trauma and witnessing maternal IPV to be important, but childhood trauma the more so. Conclusions: Both childhood trauma and witnessing IPV were important in driving IPV perpetration, with in dependent effects, however, broader childhood trauma exposure was most strongly associated. The effects were mediated by food insecurity, depression and gender inequitable and anti-social masculinities, all recognised risk factors for IPV perpetration. Thus, gender transformative IPV prevention interventions that include mental health and economic elements can mitigate the influence of these key exposures.
Urban residence and elevated blood pressure among migrant women in South Africa
(Elsevier) Pheiffer, Chantel F.; McGarvey, Stephen T.; Ginsburg, Carren; White, Michael
This paper demonstrates that internal migration may be contributing to rising non-communicable disease risk in low- and middle-income countries in gendered and geographically differentiated ways. With 2018 baseline data from the Migrant Health Follow-Up Study, we investigate the relationship between internal migration and elevated blood pressure (BP) among 2163 rural-origin men and women in South Africa, testing for sex differences. To examine the influence of place, we test whether the migration-BP relationship differs by migrants’ destination locations, controlling for household composition, social support, prior migration, and housing quality. We find that migration is associated with elevated BP only among women, and that this association is greatest for migrants living in Tembisa township. Our research underscores that gender and migration are important social determinants of noncommunicable disease risk in low-resource, rapidly-urbanizing settings.
Digestible memories in South Africa’s recent past: processing the Slave Lodge Museum and the memorial to the enslaved
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2021-07) Cloete, Nicola
Given the recent oppressive histories of apartheid and colonialism, the legacies of slavery in South Africa are often overlooked in thinking about aspects of post-apartheid democracy’s discursive formulation of race, nation, and reconciliation. This paper analyses how two examples in Cape Town – the permanent exhibition Representing Slavery at the Slave Lodge Museum and the Memorial to the Enslaved in Church Square – represent the historic event of slavery in South Africa. The paper argues that the museum exhibition and the memorial site are instances of memorialisation and simultaneously function as political processes that offer insight into discourses of race and reconciliation in South Africa during the early stages of democracy.
Tax the super-rich for the right to the city
(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, 2024-10-07) Veloso, Sérgio
The 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.
What’s the deal? women’s evidence and gendered negotiations
(Springer, 2018-11) Bonthuys, Elsje
South African law has traditionally denied property sharing rights to people in nonmarital intimate partnerships, but a series of new cases has created the possibility of enforcing universal partnership contracts to claim a share in partnership property.However, evidential biases within these progressive cases reflect a historical disdain for women’s contributions to relationships and a widespread reluctance to believe women’s testimony about the existence of agreements to share. These biases bear strong resemblances to the gender stereotypes which have been the subject of feminist critique in rape law. Central to both rape and universal partnerships is the issue of consent or agreement between men and women. This, in turn, depends on social beliefs about male and female entitlements in the realms of sex and intimate relationships. The paper highlights the commonalities and parallels between the legal treatment of women’s evidence about the existence of contracts on the one hand, and the prejudice faced by complainants in rape cases.
Taxar os super-ricos pelo direito à cidade!
(Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, 2024-10-02) Veloso, Sérgio
A 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.

1. Academic Wits Research Publications (Faculties submissions)

Browse

Filters

Settings

Sort By

Results per page

Search Results