SCIS Generel Working Papers

SCIS Working Paper | Number 77 | Power, Inequality and the Limits of Climate Reform: Rethinking South Africa’s Just Transition
Author: Crispian Olver | January 2026

This paper asks why an apparent consensus on a just transition has not (at least yet) consolidated into a permanent settlement and what this reveals about the relationship between institutions, power and equity (both procedural and distributional). Drawing on Political Settlements Theory (PST), the analysis argues that for climate and just-transition reforms to endure, the distribution of costs and benefits must broadly align with prevailing configurations of power.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 78 | Markets of the People: The struggle for fair competition in South Africa’s informal retail sector
Author: Siphelele Ngidi and David Francis | August 2026

This study examines the nature of competition within South Africa’s informal retail sector, arguing that it is heavily shaped by business, institutional, spatial, structural and systemic factors rather than being determined by market forces alone. Drawing on qualitative evidence from interviews with informal traders and sector stakeholders, the study distinguishes between horizontal competition among informal traders, and vertical competition between informal and formal retail actors.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 81 | Knowledge Strategy for Development: Reducing Global Inequality,
Author: Dev Nathan | August 2026

The rationale for this Working Paper is to fill the gap in development strategy which ignores knowledge as an output of the economic system. A knowledge strategy for development must construct the knowledge base for the construction of knowledge and technological capabilities, from elementary through intermediate to advanced levels, which drives the structural transformation of economies from low- into middle- and even high-income economies.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 79 | Assessing Gender in the South African Just Energy Transition

Over the last decade, there has been increased pressure for governments to strengthen their international response to climate change. Central to recommendations in the international policy domain is the transition to a low-carbon economy and the potential opportunities this presents for maintaining global temperatures at sustainable levels while recognising the imperatives of decent work, gender equality and the eradication of poverty and inequality globally. In line with this, there has been a new wave of interest in the concept of a just transition from South African policymakers, trade unions and researchers.