A lot has changed for the better in South Africa’s education system - but inequality remains a thorn in the country’s side. How can we disrupt educational inequality?
Seeing behind the headlines on executive pay.
Richard Rutter
It is too easy to blame naked greed for rising CEO pay. New research signals that bosses are being compensated for the risk of the chop.
Supporters of the Congress of South African Trade Unions march in the streets of Johannesburg. Economic freedom has eluded the majority of South Africans.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Economic transformation of unequal societies in a democratising context is difficult. This requires a creative mix of policy options underpinned by a commitment to social justice.
Workers in a bank watch as Occupy Wall Street protesters march in New York as part of the populist movement protesting economic inequality.
Reuters/Joshua Lott
The Marikana tragedy has indicated the violent nature of the struggles over resources and income shares. Inequality must be fought because it perpetuates social injustice.
Children walk home from school in a Nairobi slum.
Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters
Moses Ngware, African Population and Health Research Center
Kenya’s free primary and secondary education policies don’t benefit the country’s poorest children.
Women wait in line to fill buckets from a communal clean tap in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa. The country has extremely high levels of inequality.
Nic Bothma/Reuters
Thomas Piketty’s visit reminds us of the need to reconsider South African inequality-fibbery. His inequality critique is vital, but only if it can withstand the neoliberal embrace.
Discretionary pricing… for scientists and surveyors.
Hidden Science Map
If the government wants to tackle wealth inequality, then it has the tools at its disposal to help people pay a fair amount for everyday goods.
Thomas Piketty argues that education is a big equaliser in a highly unequal society like South Africa. But it must be good quality education.
Reuters/Rogan Ward
Twenty years ago, Brazil and South Africa were in a similar position when it comes to inequality. Brazil has made significant progress in addressing this, but South Africa hasn’t.
A view of Alexandra township, a slum overlooking the Sandton skyscrapers in Johannesburg. Addressing inequality has been a major challenge for South Africa.
Reuters/Juda Ngwenya
Will Thomas Piketty’s visit to South Africa trigger the rewriting of the country’s recent economic history? His analysis and ideas on how to address inequality are hard to ignore.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten speaking on Q&A.
Q&A
Opposition leader Bill Shorten told Q&A viewers that Australia is the most unequal it has been in 75 years. Is that statement supported by the research?
Children and families wait in line, as holiday gifts and toys are distributed to underprivileged children at the Fred Jordan Mission in Los Angeles December 21 2013.
Phil McCarten/Reuters
Inequality remains one of South Africa’s major problems. Thomas Piketty’s visit to the country provides an opportunity to explore ways to deal with this problem.
We jump to conclusions that there must be a reason one’s a ‘have’ and one’s a ‘have-not.’
Benjamin Disinger
Larisa Hussak, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
It’s human nature to assume there must be a valid reason for inequalities in society. What’s the psychology behind why we believe there’s something fundamentally different between haves and have-nots?
Unused cooling towers overlooking an informal settlement in Soweto. A new study suggests that poverty in South Africa is actually higher than the figures usually quoted.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
A review of South Africa’s methodology to measure poverty shows that 60% of people in the country are poor. This is way higher than the figures that are usually quoted.
An action plan to target inequality - who’s in?
Andrew Burton/Reuters
Good societies with secure public systems will increase investment much faster than company or personal tax cuts.
Outgoing Greenpeace executive director Kumi Naidoo sees the struggles against political repression, poverty and climate change as intrinsically interconnected.
flickr/World Economic Forum