Trade Reform in SA
RTFP has financed two initiatives with South African Research institutes to look at aspects of the trade reform which has been taking place in the country. South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) has undertaken a comparative research project (considering work from Chile, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand) looking at prospects for substantial trade reform (vision 2014) in the light of domestic economic and political constraints with an emphasis on the political economy of unilateral reforms. Several workshops were undertaken and the results will be published in a comprehensive book towards the end of 2008. Proposal
The Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) of the University of Cape Town looked at the relationship between trade and poverty and whether such readily-used expressions as 'the impact of trade liberalisation on poverty in South Africa' actually could be measured.
Through a series of discrete but consistent studies, researchers attempted to describe the relationships between trade reform, prices, consumption, production, and employment. Although it did not provide a complete picture, it will certainly help to identify the likely winners and losers from future trade reform. The SALDRU study was one component of a major investigation which, it is hoped, will inform policy makers so that trade reforms are implemented in a way that maximises the benefits for the poor.
The work was published in 2005 and is no longer available on the saldru website.