Inequality caused by macro-economic policies during overaccumulation crisis

Bond, Patrick; Malikane, Christopher

doi:10.1080/0376835x.2019.1701416

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Aside from sanctions (specifically, Chase Manhattan’s CEO refused to roll over short-term debt), its depth was due to externally imposed interest rate increases (the Volcker Shock again) which had redirected funds from gold—demolishing Johannesburg’s mining economy as the price collapsed from $850 to $250/oz from 1980 to 1984—to soaring dollar-based assets. But there was a deeper reason for South African capitalism’s vulnerability: An internal overaccumulation crisis and crash of corporate profitability (Bond and Malikane, 2019).…”

Section: A Personal Journey From Philadelphia and Baltimore To Zimbab...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Migrant labor is still intact although there are somewhat more worker remittances and welfare payments that flow back to the former Bantustans. As post-apartheid concern with worsening inequality rose, a long-standing debate about the roots of the system was revived, especially since as the overaccumulation crisis unfolded during the 1990 s, the traditional core Minerals-Energy-Complex appropriation of natural wealth was joined by a new burst of financialization Bond and Malikane, 2019).…”

Section: Financialization Uneven Development and Imperialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Capitalist crisis and uneven development applied in Southern Africa

Bond

2021

Human Geography

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Some of the most decisive moments in the neoliberal era were implanted first as major changes to the United States and world financial system during the early 1980s. As an inside observer at the Federal Reserve briefly during the time, learning a bourgeois mode of economic theory and description—especially applied to the global recession, financial failures, and worsening inequality of that era—was unsatisfying. The ideological and applied power configuration was shifting from Keynesianism to Monetarism and with it came irresponsible banking deregulation. Seeing this from the Fed, and beginning to grasp the formidable implications for low-income people of the Global South—from redlined West Philadelphia to debt-riddled Southern Africa—meant that instead of social-democratic nostalgia, I sought an antidote in Marxist theory and anti-apartheid solidarity activism. With the help of Johns Hopkins University geographers, the financial frothiness that was washing over sites I was learning about in detail, suddenly became explicable in terms of underlying capitalist crisis tendencies. As I saw how they applied to uneven development, race, gender, ecological, and other super-exploitative relations in Zimbabwe and South Africa, especially using Rosa Luxemburg’s capitalist/non-capitalist framing in her theory of imperialism, not only analysis but praxis became all the more urgent. Those overaccumulation tendencies, their spatial and temporal displacement, and accumulation by dispossession have been central categories for analysis and strategy ever since.

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Section: A Personal Journey From Philadelphia and Baltimore To Zimbab...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Financialization Uneven Development and Imperialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capitalist crisis and uneven development applied in Southern Africa

Bond

2021

Human Geography

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“…Many international accounting firms and consultancies -even KPMG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC, McKinsey and Hogan Lovells -were implicated in corruption associated with the notorious South African firms Eskom, Transnet, Steinhoff, Tongaat, VBS Bank and African Bank and others. During the 2010s, South Africa's capitalist class was repeatedly ranked by PwC as the world's most prone to corporate criminality [Bond, Malikane 2019].…”

Section: Economic Sovereignty Wanes During Capitalist Crisesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Competition Commission investigations also found that the dairy and fishing industries were guilty of price fixing. The high cost of basic food items has resulted in lowincome households suffering a higher inflation rate than the general population [Bond, Malikane 2019]. As a result of these tactics and general poverty, 11 mln people are estimated to experience food insecurity, i.e., not knowing where their next meal is coming from [Bond, Galvin 2019].…”

Section: Fig 4 Breakdown Of South Africa's Per Capita Wealth Depletmentioning

confidence: 99%

South Africa’s Shrinking Sovereignty: Economic Crises, Ecological Damage, Sub-Imperialism and Social Resistances

Ngwane

Bond

2020

Vestn. Ross. univ. družby nar., Ser. Meždunar. otnoš.

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The development of contemporary South Africa political economy occurred within the context of a global capitalist order characterized by increasingly unequal political and economic relations between and within countries. Before liberation in 1994, many people across the world actively supported the struggle against apartheid, with South Africa’s neighbouring states paying the highest price. The ‘sovereignty’ of the apartheid state was challenged by three processes: first, economic, cultural and sporting sanctions called for by Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress and other liberation movements, which from the 1960s-80s were increasingly effective in forcing change; second, solidaristic foreign governments including Sweden’s and the USSR’s provided material support to overthrowing the Pretoria Regime; and third, military defeat in Angola and the liberation of neighbouring Mozambique (1975), Zimbabwe (1980) and Namibia (1990) signalled the inevitability of change. But that state nevertheless maintained sufficient strength - e.g. defaulting on foreign debt and imposing exchange controls in 1985 - to ensure a transition to democracy that was largely determined by local forces. Since 1994, the shrinkage of sovereignty means the foreign influences of global capitalism amplify local socio-economic contradictions in a manner destructive to the vast majority of citizens. This is evident when considering economic, ecological, geopolitical and societal considerations.

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“…Most recent estimates suggest that more than half of the population find themselves in an impoverished state (StatsSA, 2017). In addition to this, income inequality levels within the country across different measures have been regarded as amongst the highest in the world (Bond & Malikane, 2019). This has all unequivocally meant that for many South Africans the idea of a more inclusive and better life has not been realized.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Drivers of Long-Term Youth Unemployment: Micro-Level Evidence From South Africa

Jongh¹,

Johannes²

2019

Proceedings of the 52nd International Academic Conference, Barcelona

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Significantly high youth unemployment rates have become a prominent economic and social feature around the globe. The situation from a South African perspective has reached critical stages with an ominously high and increasing number of unemployed youth contributing to excessive poverty and inequality levels. Whilst concerns surrounding their inability to access decent employment opportunities have become prominent, the longevity of the cohort's failure to secure work has undoubtedly become the leading trepidation for the country's economic development objectives. Academic discourse surrounding the issue has continuously emphasised the potential scarring effects for young people, reiterating the loss of valuable future human capital levels as well as the risk of social exclusion. Despite these concerns, evidence, especially from developing regions, as to what drives long-term unemployment among the cohort still remain novel, necessitating analyses on both the demographic and work-related factors contributing to the situation. As such, the primary objective of the study was to identify the main microeconomic drivers of long-term youth unemployment in South Africa. A quantitative approach and cross-sectional research design were employed by using secondary data obtained from Statistics South Africa's 2019 Quarterly Labour Force Survey. The sample comprised a total of 4544 unemployed job seekers. The statistical analysis included the use of descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations and the use of a binary logistic regression. The study's findings revealed the long-term nature surrounding cohort's unemployment to be affected by an array of factors. Amongst the more prominent of these included a lack of experience, skill mismatches and an underlining preference amongst the cohort for highly job secure work opportunities. In addition to this, various inter-regional disparities, high job search costs and low social capital levels all seemed to increase the likelihood of being unemployed for longer than 12 months. Henceforth, addressing this situation necessitates a multi-pronged approach. This requires the creation of a sustainable and inclusive economic growth path that stimulates the demand for a variety of skills in various sectors. Moreover, government at all levels should exude a strong political will to enhance the current education system and create an enabling environment in which much needed public-private sector partnership formation can take place. The latter should specifically seek to provide quality work-integrated learning programmes that promote the development of both soft and technical skills, smoothing the successful transition of the cohort to the labour market.

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Inequality caused by macro-economic policies during overaccumulation crisis

Cited by 13 publications

References 7 publications

Capitalist crisis and uneven development applied in Southern Africa

Capitalist crisis and uneven development applied in Southern Africa

South Africa’s Shrinking Sovereignty: Economic Crises, Ecological Damage, Sub-Imperialism and Social Resistances

Understanding the Drivers of Long-Term Youth Unemployment: Micro-Level Evidence From South Africa

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