From isolation to integration

The Post-Apartheid South African Economy

Jean-Pierre CLING, 2001, Pretoria, Protea Book House; Johannesburg, IFAS
ISBN: 1-919825-34-7
Protea series of publications on French Social Sciences

Developments in South Africa have disproved the prophets of doom who anticipated economic disintegration. Recent years have seen a general improvement in the economic situation, to the extent that some observers refer to a South African ‘miracle’. However, the end of apartheid has not suddenly resolved all economic and social problems. What are the factors that explain this phenomenon?

This book deals with the difficulties involved in the process of opening the economy, the role played by South Africa in the ‘African Renaissance’, the relations maintained with its neighbours and the implications of South Africa ‘anchoring’ itself to the EU. Cling addresses the challenge of transforming a dual society and reveals astonishing facts about the post-apartheid South African economy.

Jean-Pierre Cling is director of DIAL (Développement et Insertion Internationale), a centre of economic research specialising in developing countries, based in Paris. He held posts in southern Africa (South Africa and Zimbabwe) on behalf of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry from 1994 to 1999