South African economic policy under democracy created by Janine Aron and Geeta Kingdon

The dawn of democracy in South Africa brought with it manifold expectations. The country's integration with the rest of the world after years of isolation and economic sanctions brought hope of increased trade and restored capital flows. Sound macroeconomic policies were expected to bring fiscal and monetary stability, helping to foster economic growth and support redistribution. There was the expectation that living conditions would rapidly improve for the majority of the population that had been disenfranchised and severely disadvantaged under apartheid. In particular, it was expected that employment opportunities would increase, poverty would decline and both the access to and quality of education would improve. How has the South African experience of development under democracy measured up to these expectations? The papers in this special issue attempt to answer this question.