Press Release: Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute launches critical research on Global universal Basic Income Guarantee Pilots and their lessons for South Africa 20 October 2021.

Posted: 19th October 2021/Under: BIG, Media, SPII in the Media/By: Nikayla Naidu

Press Release: Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute launches critical research on Global universal Basic Income Guarantee Pilots and their lessons for South Africa 20 October 2021.

The Second BIG Webinar, 20th October 2021

Press Release

For immediate release

Tuesday 19 October 2021

Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute launches critical research on Global universal Basic Income Guarantee Pilots and their lessons for South Africa 20 October 2021.

 

 

As the South African government continues to consider the feasibility of implementing a universal Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) in response to the country’s high rates of poverty and unemployment, the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) remains steadfast in its mission to inform and advance the research, policy, and social dialogue for the implementation of a BIG in South Africa.

 

SPII with some key partners will launch its second research paper on a universal Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) via a Zoom webinar on Wednesday, 20 October 2021 at 1pm. SPII and its partners the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the NEDLAC Community Constituency and Telkom are committed to promoting critical understanding of the BIG.

 

SPII’s second paper on the BIG presents an annotated summary of lessons for South Africa from a sample of six BIG pilot experiments from the numerous pilot projects that have been conducted globally since the year 2000 to advance knowledge of the potential socio-economic transformational impact of a BIG for South Africa.

 

BIG pilot cases in this paper have been selected from across the spectrum of developed and developing countries, namely Canada, the United States of America (USA), Spain, India, Namibia, and Kenya. The paper notes that BIG transfers in these cases have had significant positive impact outcomes on a number of matrices, including women empowerment; earnings, employment and labour market participation; health and nutrition; food security; and self-worth and well-being.

 

“The major take-away lesson from the pilot studies for South Africa is the significant positive outcomes for women empowerment and increased levels of labour market participation witnessed particularly in the developing country BIG pilots”, said Isobel Frye, Executive Director of SPII. “What we are seeing from these pilot experiments is increased levels of financial independence among women provided by the BIG cash transfers, significantly reducingwomen’s economic dependence on men – a very

pertinent issue in the South African context where structural socio-economic differentials create and perpetuate the vulnerability of women to gender-based violence.”

 

This paper was co-written by SPII’s Researchers, Nkululeko Majozi and Lehlohonolo Kekana and will be launched in a webinar tomorrow (20 October 2021) at 1 pm.

The two respondents to the paper will be Dr Guillermo Delgado, an adjunct researcher at the Department of Land and Property Sciences (DLPS) of the University of Namibia, and Dr Madalitso Phiri – a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Johannesburg’s Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS).

 

[ENDS]

 

 

For further information contact:

 

The Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute

 

Isobel Frye (SPII Director) 084 508 1271

Nqobile Zulu (SPII Research manager) 067 292 9274

Nkululeko Majozi (Researcher) 072 628 7941

Lindi-K Khumalo (Researcher) 079 451 8160

 

 

Notes to editors:

 

Please find the zoom link to the Basic Income Grant webinar below.

 

20th October, 13:00 – 15:00: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83890226806?pwd=ZVpjYThoeHFKQTBlVXFFYUNJS21Bdz09

 

Meeting ID: 838 9022 6806

Passcode: BIG201021