EDITORIALS
Editorial 2010 (1) | ||
2010 marks the relaunch of Law, Democracy & Developmentas an online, open-access journal. This means that from now on LDD will be freely available to readers and researchers around the world. In doing so it will be joining approximately 400 open access peer-reviewed journals being published in Africa, ... |
Editorial 2010 (2) | ||
'Globalisation', like climate change, is one of the abiding realities of our time which, within a generation, has changed the world almost beyond recognition. The term itself means different things to different people, ranging from economic integration in itself to the now-defunct neo-liberal policies that largely guided the process... |
Editorial 2010 (3): Working on the margins: Poverty and economic marginality in South Africa | ||
This special edition of Law, Democracy and Development grows out of an eponymous policy seminar hosted by the Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) in Cape Town in early 2009, supported by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre and the UK Department for International Development. Reflecting several of the... |
REFEREED ARTICLES
Democracy and development in the age of globalisation | ||
| Mubangizi, John C | ||
Globalisation is one of the leading characteristics of the world today, a world that is striving for development, democracy and the protection of human rights. There is no doubt that the relationship between globalisation and democracy is quite complex. So too is the relationship between globalisation and development. The... |
Extending the frontiers of employment regulation: The case of domestic employment in South Africa | ||
| Du Toit, Darcy | ||
Domestic workers form one of the most vulnerable and exploited sectors of the workforce in the world economy. In 2002 South Africa became one of relatively few countries to promulgate special legislation aimed at extending protection to domestic workers in the form of Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, ... |
Formal-informal economy linkages: What implications for poverty in South Africa? | ||
| Valodia, Imraan and Devey, Richard | ||
The idea of dualism in the South African economy, characterized by a 'first' and 'second' economy has come to dominate government thinking in recent years. Using the panel component of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the authors explore linkages between the formal and informal economy. Their analysis suggests that... |
Free trade or just trade? The world trade organisation, human rights and development (Part 2) | ||
| Lumina, Cephas | ||
The author critically examines the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In recent years, it is noted, the organisation's agenda of trade liberalisation, its perceived lack of accountability and insensitivity to human rights have attracted intense criticism. It has been asserted that provisions of WTO agreements concerning agricultural... |
Inequality and economic marginalisation: How the structure of the economy impacts on opportunities on the margins | ||
| Philip, Kate | ||
In the face of a long-standing unemployment crisis that increasingly threatens social and economic stability, employment has at last taken centre stage in South African policy, and with this, focus is shifting to the structural constraints on employment creation within the economy. The New Growth Path, approved by Cabinet... |
Informal business and poverty in South Africa: Rethinking the paradigm | ||
| Von Broembsen, Marlese | ||
Analysing policy discourse concerning the informal economy in South Africa, the article explicates in detail the paucity of (even ostensibly pro-poor) market-oriented prescriptions for enterprise development. The author presents the Sustainable Livelihoods approach as an alternative framework for understanding the informal economy and one more attuned to the realities... |
Legislative and executive translation of the right to have access to health care services | ||
| Pieterse, Marius | ||
It is the task of government to turn the basic rights contained in the Constitution into lived reality for South Africa's people by means of legislation and policy. Marius Pieterse focuses on the crucially important right of access to health care services, examining the extent to which the legislature... |
Social protection for developing countries: Can social insurance be more relevant for those working in the informal economy? | ||
| Smit, Nicola and Mpedi, George | ||
In this article, Nicola Smit and Letlhokwa George Mpedi critically evaluate the appropriateness of social protection, particularly social insurance, for informal economy workers. It addresses the question from a developing country perspective, focusing in particular on Southern Africa. The authors start by analysing concepts (such as 'informal economy', 'employee', ... |
Sour grapes | ||
| Theron, Jan | ||
| Employment creation is a national priority, and it is often said that agriculture is a sector in which jobs should be created. This has not happened. A study of employment in the Hex River Valley confirms this. Although the area under cultivation expanded by half, the number of jobs had... |
The curious absence of human rights: Can the WIPO Development Agenda transform intellectual property negotiation? | ||
| Barratt, Amanda | ||
This article examines international negotiation of global intellectual property protection standards. Developing countries favour more flexible international rules, while developed countries push for higher mandatory protection levels. Developing countries base their positions on primary principles of intellectual property law: its public purpose and its commitment to balancing costs and... |
The role of black capital in revitalising land reform in Limpopo, South Africa | ||
| Aliber, Michael and Themba Maluleke | ||
In this article Aliber and Maluleke grapple with similar questions of social differentiation in their exploratory study of emergent black farmers who lease land on floundering land reform projects. Examining the partnerships between these commercially-oriented lessees and project beneficiaries through a number of case studies, the article discerns how... |
Waste management and the workplace | ||
| Theron, Jan and Margareet Visser | ||
The article examines forms of labour and economic opportunity created by local government in relation to waste management (refuse removal and recycling) and the kinds of vulnerabilities these generate. The authors seek to lift the 'contractual veil' on outsourced municipal services and describe a typology of labour arranged along... |
FORUM CONTRIBUTIONS
FORUM CONTRIBUTION: Get rights right in the interests of security of tenure | ||
| Pope, Ann | ||
Review of Land, Power and Custom: Controversies Generated by South Africa's Communal Land Rights Act, edited by Aninka Claassens and Ben Cousins; xv and pp 392 with accompanying DVD. Legal Resources Centre and UCT Press, Cape Town, 2008 Ann Pope gives a detailed overview of a book... |
FORUM CONTRIBUTION: The plight of domestic workers: The elusiveness of access to adequate housing | ||
| Tonkin, Anzabeth | ||
| South Africa's transformative Constitution calls for a holistic approach to realising the right to human dignity. To marginalised groups, such as domestic workers, this right is not confined to achieving better wages and working conditions; it touches every aspect of their lives. Central to this endeavour is the quest for adequate housing. This article discusses the experience of a housing cooperative consisting predominantly of domestic workers in campaigning for adequate housing, especially at local government level, as part of the struggle to achieve a secure and dignified existence. While identifying formidable obstacles, it also shows the interconnectedness of the various challenges and the need for a integrated approach in addressing them... |