This Country Study first examines the use of cash transfers as a policy tool in developing countries, and particularly the design of such systems (section 2). In section 3, it analyzes social security provisioning, the types of grants currently in place, government welfare expenditures and expenditure increases over the last decade. Attention is also given to the current debate concerning the possibility of additional expansions of social security provisioning (specifically the basic income grant debate). Section 4 reviews the fiscal and service delivery constraints to further expansion of the social security system in South Africa, centreing on conditional grants attached to education and health services. Lastly, in section 5, it provides general conclusions, make policy recommendations, and offer suggestions for further research.
©International Poverty Center
