Durable Inequalities under Transformative Social Policy Reforms—A Comparative Study of South Africa and Brazil
Madalitso Phiri
University of South Africa
South Africa and Brazil are burdened with institutional poverty and inequality a phenomenon that persists after two decades of experimentation with democratization. Both countries have developed ambitious social policies aimed at addressing institutional poverty and inequality, whose effects have been heralded internationally. This paper asks the following question, how have political, economic and social institutional forces in South Africa and Brazil, in government or civil society, acted in support of, or in opposition to, extending transformative social policy to reduce poverty and inequality? The paper aims to compare South Africa and Brazil’s social policy architecture in their evolution under the governance of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Patrido dos Trabalhoes (PT, Workers Party). The paper further applies the insights of a political economy of institutions to understand the effects of these policies on poverty and inequality. This narrative should be read in a dynamic global context where Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) and unconditional transfers alike have shaped the ANC’s policy path, the Social Grant for the poor and the PT’s Bolsa Familia culminating in a reinvigorated discussion and debate within the Global Social Policy architecture. Promulgation of policy reforms is in tandem with a shift in global discourse; from the vilification of the state’s role in social policy making and development to a “democratic developmental state” that is vigorously in pursuit of inclusive development.
