Poverty on the retreat?

That will be excellent news. According to the governments' latest Development Indicators 2008 this is what has actually happened. Using AMPS and LSM data government argues that poverty levels have dropped.  

In earlier posts this debate was extensively covered.  Absolute poverty levels may be declining when certain measurements are used, but relative poverty levels can still increase.  Whatever definition one uses, the number of people in poverty is still dire.  Definitions and measurements of poverty drive our interpretation of the unemployment-poverty-social security system.   

After a lengthy period of high-profile debates on poverty in South Africa, government continue to rely on the same measurements to paint a very select interpretation of what poverty means. 

Time for a systems dynamics model on poverty-unemployment-economy interactions in South Africa. Anyone interested?

See here for the full Development Indicators 2008 report and article by Business Report.