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This 2019 fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) analyzes funding trends and systemic inequities in South Africa's dual healthcare system. It highlights the disparity between private and public sector spending, the impact of austerity measures on health human resources, and the financial challenges facing the implementation of Universal Health Coverage through the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill.

The Training Layoff Scheme (TLS), introduced via the 'Framework for South Africa’s Response to the International Economic Crisis', provides a mechanism for South African companies and workers facing economic stress to use layoff periods for skill diversification and production improvement to ensure sustainable future outcomes.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) examines the challenges of public sector employment in South Africa. It argues that while some view the public sector as bloated, it is actually small by international population benchmarks but suffers from a critical shortage of frontline workers and a disproportionate concentration of resources in high-level bureaucracy. The document proposes a strategy to reconfigure the public service by filling frontline vacancies, redeploying administrative staff, formalising stipend workers, and adjusting fiscal policy to move away from austerity-driven post freezes.

This report evaluates the 2018 VAT increase in South Africa from 14% to 15%, arguing that it disproportionately affects poor and low-income households and makes the tax mix more regressive. The analysis finds that current zero-rating is well-targeted and proposes expanding the list of zero-rated items to 23 additional categories to support vulnerable groups, including female-headed households. To offset the resulting revenue loss, the report suggests implementing a 25% luxury VAT rate on specific high-end goods, which could generate up to R9.6bn in additional revenue.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues for the mainstreaming of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in South Africa to address risks to food security, water supply, and rural employment. The document proposes a transition toward agro-ecology and conservation agriculture (CA) to restore degraded land and protect strategic water source areas, suggesting that these labour-intensive practices can create new jobs in a 'Catchment Economy' and within the biofuel sector.

This policy brief, prepared by the Institute for Economic Justice for the Labour Caucus in the Jobs Summit Economic Sector Interventions working group, outlines opportunities and policy requirements for transitioning South Africa's manufacturing sector toward a low-carbon economy. It identifies specific growth areas in renewable energy, transport, agriprocessing, water, and the circular economy, while emphasizing the need for a 'just transition' that protects workers and includes the informal economy.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlines a strategy for South Africa's transition from a coal-dependent electricity system to a low-carbon model. It emphasizes the need for a 'just transition' to protect vulnerable workers, the urgent need to reform Eskom's business model, and the potential for localizing the manufacturing of renewable energy components to drive economic growth.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlines a strategic framework for transitioning South Africa's mining sector toward a low-carbon economy. It addresses the economic risks associated with coal dependency, the need for investment in minerals essential for clean technologies, and proposals for a 'just transition' to protect mineworkers and local communities through reskilling and infrastructure redeployment.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that the expansion of the South African financial sector, or 'financialisation', has not benefited job creation and may instead hinder the real economy. The document proposes a series of regulatory interventions to shift bank lending toward non-financial corporations, reduce the cost of credit, stabilise volatile capital flows, and discourage the prioritisation of shareholder value over long-term investment to stimulate labour-absorbing economic growth.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa's development finance institutions (DFIs), specifically the IDC and DBSA, are constrained by their funding models and cannot sufficiently support labour-intensive manufacturing. The document proposes recapitalising these institutions with public funds, establishing an export-import (EXIM) bank, and adopting a funding model similar to Brazil's BNDES to drive job creation and industrial growth.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlines sector-specific strategies to drive employment creation in South Africa through structural transformation. It identifies the decline of manufacturing—which fell from 21% of GDP in 1994 to 13% in 2016—as a critical issue and proposes targeted interventions in the metals, machinery and equipment, agriculture and agro-processing, and plastics conversion sectors to reverse deindustrialisation and leverage regional and global demand.

This policy brief, prepared by the Institute for Economic Justice for the Jobs Summit Inclusive Growth working group, examines the potential for agriculture and land reform to generate employment in South Africa. It analyzes the current state of the agricultural sector, proposes policy interventions for commercial farming and land reform, and presents three employment scenarios based on different levels of state support and land redistribution.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), prepared for the Labour Caucus in the Jobs Summit Inclusive Growth working group, argues for decisive state regulation to reduce extreme wage inequality in South Africa. It proposes strengthening the Employment Equity Act to mandate wage ratios, capping executive pay, and using state procurement and investment levers to enforce wage equity.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlines systemic failures in South Africa's tax management and proposes a series of progressive tax reforms to generate revenue for job creation and economic transformation.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa's unemployment crisis is a macroeconomic phenomenon that cannot be solved through microeconomic interventions alone. The document criticizes the 'orthodox' macroeconomic framework adopted since 1996, characterizing both fiscal and monetary policies as contractionary and detrimental to job creation. It proposes a shift toward a developmental macroeconomic approach, featuring a significant fiscal stimulus and a restructured monetary policy mandate to prioritize employment and productive investment over strict inflation targeting.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that South Africa's monetary policy is 'anti-developmental' because it prioritizes price stability and inflation targeting over growth and employment. The author contends that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) relies on inappropriate tools, specifically interest rate manipulation, which discourages investment and contributes to de-industrialization and financialization. The brief proposes a fundamental shift toward a developmental monetary framework involving direct credit provision to productive sectors, the monetisation of fiscal operations, and closer coordination between the SARB and the National Treasury.

This policy brief argues that while small businesses are critical for formal employment in South Africa, the sector is stagnant and severely under-supported by the government compared to large businesses. It proposes a shift toward an "economic deal" (Quadrant IV) involving economy-wide reforms, including tax incentives for startups, tenure reform in Traditional Authority Areas, telecommunications liberalization, and the use of competition policy to open market access for SMMEs.

The Institute for Economic Justice proposes two alternatives to address South Africa's structural unemployment crisis: an Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) providing 100 days of work per year, or a Workseekers Grant of R1000 per month for six months. Estimated to cost R30-36 billion annually, these schemes would be funded by a proposed R15 billion annual contribution from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) surplus and additional solidarity taxes, such as a wealth tax.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticizes the South African Department of Labour for undermining the National Minimum Wage (NMW) package through its conduct in Parliament. The IEJ alleges that the department ignored decisions from the Parliamentary Labour Portfolio Committee and the February 2017 Nedlac agreement, specifically by weakening the independence of the NMW commission, failing to guarantee annual wage increases, and introducing employer-led exemption applications.

This 2018 fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice examines South Africa's fulfillment of economic and social rights ahead of its first UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights review. It argues that the government's adoption of fiscal austerity, combined with extreme systemic inequality and corruption, undermines the rights to health and education.