Impact

Policy Relevance and Impact

It is part of SASPRI’s objectives to conduct research which is of direct relevance to policy. Indeed, it is hoped that our research will form part of the evidence base for evidence informed policy-making. To this end we aim to keep a record of how our research has been used by government, civil society and academia. The following list gives some examples. We would be grateful to hear of any other ways our research has been useful to researchers, policymakers, academics or civil society.

Microsimulation

Microsimulation models developed by SASPRI have been used in various ways, for example:

  • Summary statistics produced by PITMOD have been used in the annual Tax Statistics report published by the South African Revenue Service and National Treasury.
  • SAMOD was used as part of the analysis for the Expert Panel on Basic Income Support under the supervision of the International Labour Organisation for the Government of South Africa. The Expert Panel reports are available here.
  • SAMOD and INDOMOD were used in a multi-country study about social protection and a just transition. The study explored how social protection can alleviate the adverse socio-economic effects of climate change mitigation policies – particularly carbon pricing and the removal of fuel/electricity subsidies. The report is available here.
  • SAMOD was used to estimate the impact of the social protection interventions in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. The open access article is available here and a policy brief here.
  • INDOMOD was used to analyse the adaptiveness of the Indonesian social protection system by simulating an income shock caused by a natural disaster and testing reforms to the existing social protection system. The open access article is available here.
  • SAMOD was used to examine options for implementing and financing a universal child benefit in South Africa. The report is available here (see page 82).
  • SAMOD was used to explore options for a youth grant in South Africa.
  • SAMOD has been used by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to estimate the number of potential beneficiaries of social grants to inform SASSA’s submission to the National Treasury.

Decent Standard of Living

Our collaborative work on a decent standard of living in South Africa has been taken up in a number of ways, for example:

  • The inclusion of the set of indicators of a decent standard of living in Statistics South Africa’s Living Conditions Surveys for 2008/09 and 2014/15, and the Income and Expenditure Survey 2022/23. This enables changes to be monitored with respect to people’s possession of the set of socially perceived necessities.
  • The hosting by Social Policy Initiative (SPI) of an annual Decent Standard of Living colloquium that is attended by members of government, civil society and academia. A summary of the 2023 colloquium is available here (pages 8-10).
  • The launch of a dedicated website.
  • Interactions with the National Minimum Wage Commission.
  • Motivations from civil society for the approach to be used by South African government to meet the recommendation to South Africa regarding the adoption of a composite index on the cost of living that was made by the United Nation’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN CESCR). A submission by SPI and the Centre for Human Rights is available here.
  • The publication of think-pieces in national newspapers (e.g. What should be tackled urgently through empirical policy-making?; Why SA needs to do better; Embracing decency and dignity).

The South African Index of Multiple Deprivation (SAIMD)

The SAIMD 2011 and ward level poverty data for 2011 have been used in a variety of ways, for example:

  • Health Systems – for the District Health Barometer and South African Health Review at district and local municipality level.
  • Prof Francis Wilson – in a seminar on Mining and Migration presented to the Marikana Commission of Inquiry on 9th April 2014.
  • Human Sciences Research Council – to examine the relationship between deprivation and homicides.
  • Economic Policy Research Institute for the national Department of Social Development – to estimate small area take up of the Child Support Grant.
  • KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health – to examine the relationship between poverty and trauma.
  • Charity which provides nutritional support to school children in deprived areas – one of the data sources for targeting areas for support. 
  • Medical Research Council – in a study looking at the relationship between multiple deprivation and low birth weight.
  • National Treasury – to contribute to work examining the basis of the equitable share.
  • Researchers at the University of Cape Town (UCT) – to examine the relationship between mining activity and poverty/deprivation.
  • Rural Health Advocacy Project – for advocacy work in the former homelands.
  • Legal Resources Centre – to support a case relating to tribal levies.
  • Health Economics Unit, UCT – to explore the relationship between deprivation and obesity.
  • Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, UCT – to explore the relationship between deprivation and depression.
  • Department of Politics, University of Virginia – in research on the determinants of health outcomes in South Africa.
  • Department of Sociology, Utrecht University – in research to examine and explain patterns of vigilantism across South Africa.
  • Western Cape Department of Health – for Annual District Health Expenditure Review reports and Annual Performance Plan.