Shadow of Liberation

Vishnu Padayachee (Author) Vishnu Padayachee is Distinguished Professor and Derek Schrier and Cecily Cameron Chair in Development Economics at the School of Economic and Business Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Macroeconomic Research Group (MERG).Robert Van Niekerk (Author) Robert van Niekerk is Chair of Public Governance at the Wits School of Governance. He was active in policy-making processes for a democratic South Africa in education and health during and after the 1990's transition era, including serving as a coordinator and policy analyst for the health section of the National Commission on Higher Education.

"This book seeks to answer the question of what happened between 1990 and 1996, years during which the ANC abandoned its earlier advocacy of a social democratic welfare state to embrace instead 'market driven' neo-liberalism. Padayachee and Van Niekerk's achievement in researching this story from the surviving archival materials as well as the recollections of participants is impressive. Combining fine scholarship with vivid narrative, this is an economist's detective story." (Tom Lodge, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Limerick) "When the prospect of a negotiated settlement came onto the political agenda in the 1980s, one outcome of policy discussions within the ANC was the birth of the Macro Economic Research Group (MERG). This book provides the first comprehensive account of what became of MERG, once considered the ANC's 'trickle up' economic plan, and sheds interesting light on a chapter of our recent history that is often forgotten." (Z. Pallo Jordan, head of ANC's Department of Information and Publicity from 1987, cabinet minister 1994–2009, and a member of National Executive Committee of the African National Congress until 2014.)

• Acronyms and AbbreviationsChapter 1 Setting the Scene on ANC Economic and Social PolicyChapter 2 African Claims, the Freedom Charter and Social Democracy, 1943–1960Chapter 3 Incarceration, Exile and Homecoming, c.1960–c.1991Chapter 4 Economic Policy Debates during a Decade of Liberation, 1985–1993Chapter 5 On the Way to GEAR, 1994–1996Chapter 6 Making Sense of the Economic Policy DebatesChapter 7 South African Reserve Bank Independence Chapter 8 The Politics of Health Policy-Making in the Transition EraChapter 9 Interpretation and ConclusionSelect BibliographyIndex