Land alienation, dualism, and economic discrimination: South Africa and Rhodesia

Abstract

The present article rests on three main foundations. The first one consists of some recent advances of empirical knowledge af underdeveloped economies. During the past decade, evidence has rapidly accumulated which demonstrates that the distribution of incomes in rural districts of less developed countries as well as the absolute standard of living of the rural masses in these economies are highly dependent on the degree of concentration of landownership, that rapid overall growth in the economy does not guarantee that those in the most precarious situation can improve their relative or even their absolute position, and that the economic policies employed often create a bias which runs mainly in class terms and which tends to disfavor the already poor in rural areas. ¹ The fact that we live and act economically in ‘a world of monopolies’ ² (and monopsonies) is not unimportant if we are to gain a fuller understanding of the main determinants behind the low and/or falling real incomes of large population segments in the less developed countries.

See e.g. Griffin (1976), (1978), ILO (1980) and Lipton (1980).

Robinson (1969), Chapter 27.

See e.g. Griffin (1976), (1978), ILO (1980) and Lipton (1980).

Robinson (1969), Chapter 27.

Notes

See e.g. Griffin (1976), (1978), ILO (1980) and Lipton (1980).

Robinson (1969), Chapter 27.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel B. Ndlela

Department of Economics, University of Lund. Financial support from SAREC and from the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences is gracefully acknowledged. An earlier version was presented at the Nordic Meeting of Economists in Elsinore, June 1–4, 1979. Thanks are due to Göte Hansson, Hans Hedlund, Stefan Hedlund, Lennart Jörberg, Bo Larssoa, Inga Persson-Tanimura and László Somogyi for comments on that version.