The impetus for change in African legal reform is coming primarily from African women themselves, as they respond to their personal and practical experiences with the law. Top-down imposition of norms has not worked; if legal reform is to lead to sustainable equity for women, the voices of these...

Women in the Europe and Central Asia region complain about loss of employment, sexual harassment, violence, poor enforcement of the law, poor political representation, and poor health care. Many greet these complaints with skepticism or dismissal. Is it economic expedience due to the sheer...

Despite being an upper middle income country, South Africa's high inequality and the long-lasting legacies of apartheid mean that the country is faced with numerous development challenges, many of which are characteristic of countries with much lower incomes. This paper focuses on social...

South Africa's social assistance system represents a major intervention by government in addressing the deprivation amongst the country's population. The system is extensive in terms of both the number of people it covers, directly and indirectly, as well as in terms of the amount of scarce...

South Africa is set to emerge from the crisis weaker than it had been going into it. However, this Economic Update argues that the reasons for low growth and high unemployment do not lie in the government's crisis response, which has generally been sound. Growth is expected to reach 4 percent in...

The South African financial system has weathered the shock of COVID-19 but faces growing risks emanating from a weak macroeconomic outlook. The pandemic crisis hit South Africa hard, with nonresident capital outflows accelerating and the domestic and global slowdown precipitating a6.4 percent...

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is the most unequal region in the world. While there has been some progress in recent years, inequality has remained almost stagnant in the most unequal countries. Using an innovative framework, this report provides a systematic and comprehensive...

Access to international markets plays a critical role in an economy's growth and development. Trade facilitation, the simplification, modernization, and harmonization of export and import processes has therefore emerged as an important issue for countries, as is reflected in the World Trade...