CAN BASIC INCOME CONTRIBUTE TO INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA?

The document reviews seven major proposals for basic income in South Africa, including those from the ANC, the Department of Social Development, and the Institute for Economic Justice. It argues that while there is a strong consensus on the need to close the social protection gap for adults aged 18-59, the specific design, financing, and implementation of such a system will determine whether it achieves progressive outcomes or reinforces austerity. The authors advocate for an unconditional grant linked to national poverty lines, funded through progressive taxation, and complemented by universal public services.

• South Africa faces a critical gap in social protection for working-age adults, with over half the population living below the Upper-Bound Poverty Line (UBPL) and approximately one quarter below the Food Poverty Line (FPL).
• The Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, providing R350 per month, served as a vital temporary measure that mitigated hunger and stimulated local economies, but it is plagued by high barriers to access.
• There is a broad consensus among reviewed proposals that basic income should target adults aged 18-59, be pegged to national poverty lines, and be implemented through a process of progressive improvement in value and coverage.
• The African National Congress (ANC) officially supports a universal Basic Income Grant (BIG) that is unconditional, indexed to the FPL and eventually the UBPL, with financing potentially including a wealth tax.
• The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) proposes a 'high ambition pathway' by 2030 featuring a grant at the UBPL value and a means-test of six times the UBPL, projecting a 61% reduction in the poverty rate and 3.5% GDP growth.
• The Social Policy Initiative (SPI) suggests a three-year implementation to reach the UBPL by 2025/26, arguing that the grant should be financed by increasing the debt-to-GDP ratio by 2.4 to 3.1 percentage points rather than new taxes to maximize economic stimulus.
• Orkin et al. recommend immediate improvements to the SRD grant, such as raising the means-test threshold to R1335 and removing the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) registration criterion to reduce exclusion errors.
• The authors argue that a basic income grant must be complemented by universal quality public services and strong labour protections to avoid becoming a subsidy for employers or a replacement for essential state provisioning.
• There are concerns that government officials may attempt to implement basic income through regressive means, such as household-level grants or by cutting other social spending, which would disadvantage women and the most vulnerable.

APA

Howson, K., & Coleman, N. (2023). CAN BASIC INCOME CONTRIBUTE TO INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA? Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IEJ-Working-Paper-Series-No.-8-Basic-Income-Inclusive-Development-SA.pdf

Chicago

Howson, Kelle, and Neil Coleman. CAN BASIC INCOME CONTRIBUTE TO INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA? Institute for Economic Justice, 2023. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IEJ-Working-Paper-Series-No.-8-Basic-Income-Inclusive-Development-SA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Howson |first1=Kelle |last2=Coleman |first2=Neil |title=CAN BASIC INCOME CONTRIBUTE TO INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA? |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=August 2023 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IEJ-Working-Paper-Series-No.-8-Basic-Income-Inclusive-Development-SA.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{howson2023can, author = {Howson, Kelle and Coleman, Neil}, title = {{CAN BASIC INCOME CONTRIBUTE TO INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA?}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IEJ-Working-Paper-Series-No.-8-Basic-Income-Inclusive-Development-SA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }