Pundits around the world have criticized Germany for either trying to reshape Europe in its image or acting in its own self-interest. Germany has been accused of creating a new "empire," of pursuing a new Sonderweg, of "going global alone," of evasiveness, self-imposed isolation, and bullying....

This paper uses the 2010/11 Income and Expenditure Survey for South Africa to analyze the progressivity of the main tax and social spending programs and quantify their impact on poverty and inequality. The paper also assesses the redistributive effectiveness of fiscal interventions given the...