Addressing economic, social and environmental challenges in South Africa

Abstract

In 2010, the World Bank estimated that 4.3 billion people (62% of the world's population) were living on less than US$5 per day. National household survey data from 110 countries reveal that these people who are said to constitute the base of the economic pyramid (BOP) made up 72% of the 5 575 million people recorded by the surveys and that an overwhelming majority of the population in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean are home to nearly all the BOP (Hammond et al. 2007). According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), exclusion and relative poverty are also challenges for advanced economies and obstacles to growth opportunities for all economies. It further notes that income inequalities have risen to unprecedented levels in many OECD countries recording their highest level for the past half-century. In OECD countries, the average income of the richest 10% of the population is about nine times that of the poorest 10%, up from seven x 25 years ago (OECD 2021). For this reason, policy-makers globally are confronted with the challenge of fostering economic growth while ensuring that the gains remain socially inclusive