Evaluating the impact of social assistance on poverty alleviation in South Africa

Abstract

In the past two decades of liberal transformation the post-apartheid Republic of South Africa has been well described as an upper middle-income economy. Despite the country’s strong political and economic affiliations with other developed countries, the nation remains till present faced with socioeconomic impediments deeply rooted within the presence of ceaseless impoverishment, unemployment and inequality. Likewise, there are various factors that explain the nature of deprivation. The application of both the money-metric and non-moneymetric approaches in the conceptualization and measurement of poverty provides an in-depth understanding of efforts (or lack thereof) to establish an equal standard of living for all.