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COVID-19, social protection, and the labour market in South Africa: Are social grants being targeted at the most vulnerable?

Author

Listed:
  • Haroon Bhorat
  • Tim Köhler

    (Development Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town)

Abstract

In light of the South African government’s pandemic-induced expansion of the country’s social protection system to provide relief to vulnerable individuals and households, this paper aims to use newly available, nationally representative survey data – Wave 1 of the NIDS-CRAM – to provide a quantitative, descriptive evaluation of whether social grants are being successfully targeted at the most vulnerable in the context of the national lockdown and COVID-19 crisis. In particular, we highlight heterogeneity in labour market outcomes before and during the national lockdown to show that social grants are an important source of income relief for individuals in low-income households. We show that these individuals have been disproportionately burdened by adverse labour market effects induced by the lockdown with respect to employment loss, the likelihood of having a paid job to return to, and reductions in working hours and earnings. We show that grants substantially increase the incomes of poor households in relative terms and, through fiscal incidence analysis, we show that the pandemic-induced additional government spending on grants have been pro-poor, especially that on the Child Support Grant. Considering the observed heterogeneity in labour market outcomes before and during lockdown across the household income distribution and that grants are relatively well-targeted; we conclude with a set of policy recommendations for South Africa’s social protection system going forward.

Suggested Citation

  • Haroon Bhorat & Tim Köhler, 2020. "COVID-19, social protection, and the labour market in South Africa: Are social grants being targeted at the most vulnerable?," Working Papers 202008, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
  • Handle: RePEc:ctw:wpaper:202008
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    File URL: https://commerce.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/content_migration/commerce_uct_ac_za/1093/files/DPRU%2520WP%2520202008.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Haroon Bhorat & Morné Oosthuizen & Ben Stanwix, 2021. "Social Assistance Amidst the COVID‐19 Epidemic in South Africa: A Policy Assessment," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 89(1), pages 63-81, March.
    2. Servaas van der Berg & Linda Zuze & Grace Bridgman, 2020. "The impact of the Coronavirus and lockdown on children's welfare in South Africa: Evidence from NIDS-CRAM Wave 1," Working Papers 24/2020, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    3. Wendy Annecke & Peta Wolpe, 2022. "What role for social policies in the framework of the just transition in South Africa?," Working Paper 7e67272e-9d99-4780-9d59-7, Agence française de développement.
    4. Kibrom A Abay & Nishant Yonzan & Sikandra Kurdi & Kibrom Tafere, 2023. "Revisiting Poverty Trends and the Role of Social Protection Systems in Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 32(Supplemen), pages 44-68.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    NIDS-CRAM; South Africa; social grants; social protection;
    All these keywords.

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