State provision of social security : some theoretical, comparative and historical perspectives with reference to South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Societies are imaginative when setting up non-marl\et responses to deal v1ith insecurity and deprivation. Theresult is that there are many different services (such as income support, personal welfare services, education,health care and housing) catering for the very general objective of providing security. In addition, a variety ofinstitutions can, and do, provide these services. While the traditional theory of public goods and e::...1ernalitiesdoes not provide clear justification for increased state provision of these services (in contrast to market, family,community and employer provision), increased state provision and coordination do seem to be a clear trendboth from historical and comparative perspectives. Furthermore, this increased role of the state can beinterpreted as representing a reassignment of the traditional roles of other institutions (noted above) to the state.The above trend can be rationalized on economic grounds as being the result of the changing nature ofsocieties which affects the viability of different institutions In the provision of social services. Economicdevt~lopment affects the cost of production of social services by different institutions differently. Taking a morein depth view of the costs of production, there are grounds to believe that the comparative advantage of thestate in the provision of these_ services grows- a-s economic development takes place. Nationalization of the provision of services providing social security as economic development takes place can thus be seen as astylized fact of economic development, and as representing an adjustment which can be efficiency enhancing.lt is from this perspective that the issue of the affordabiiity of increased social provision in developing countriesshould be approached.The South African experience provides further evidence of the increasing pressures, over time, for greater stateprovision of social security. The experience also, how . .:wer, furnishes examples of how in a specific situationthese forces can be obstructed by speciric political institutions and how social policy can fail to adjust tochanging circumstances. This resulted in the current unequal access to social services, the inequality of benefitlevels and the incomplete coverage of risks faced by people in the South African economy.In spite of the incompleteness of the South African social safety net and the inequality which it reflects, fiscaland macroeconomic constraints seem to limit the possibilities for eAtending the safety net and for making itmore just These constraints imply, and have resultoo in, the lowering of benefits to the previously privileged _;-(and an adjustment in the nature of benefits, leading to a focus on lower cost services which offer high ratesof return. Current demands and envisaged changes in the spht?re of social policy, especially those surroundinga national pension system with universal coverage and G:·.tensive speci31 employm.3nt programmes, however,indicate the strength of the forces making for increase:d nationali:ation of income support and other socialservices. How the perceived fiscal constraints can be reconciled with the alleged rationality of a growing rolefor the South African state in social provision remains a question. The very general response of this studyneeds to be evaluated by looking in more d.:.tail at specific programmes and specific aspects of insecurity.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University