Summary

Rather than proposing a blue-print for a more equable economic system in South Africa, this book presents the results and implications of research on both the history and current dynamics of the South African economy, from World War II to the present. The authors analyze a range of strategic economic trajectories, linking these to the shifting balance of economic and political power within South Africa. However, their approach is not prescriptive; instead, they set the boundaries within which the economic and political debates are conducted. They also discuss the theoretical arguments involved in the propositions that they and others have put forward. In this and other respects - such as the data presented and the fact that each chapter is written in a self-contained fashion so that particular topics can be studied in isolation from others - this study serves as a textbook of the political economy of South Africa.