The social wage has wide currency in South Africa today in a political-policy sense but the economics and social policy
framework remain illusive, both in definition and consequently measurement. The main focus in South Africa is the role
of the social wage in alleviating poverty for those with the low or no wage income. It is viewed as an aggregation of state
provided or funded inputs which off-set the absence of wages but is also taken to mean state provided free basic services. These are generally taken to be redistributive and progressive in the effect of shifting resource allocations within society: the question remains whether these are sufficiently so. The review concludes that the absence of a coherent policy framework limits meaningful measurement of the social wage. It concludes that policy choices and prioritization is required if the social wage is to become less an aggregate of government social spending and more a distinct policy instrument.

Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) hosted a high level seminar on 6 July 2012 to debate how the ANC policy conference might shape the immediate and longer term interests for South Africa's unemployed, working poor, working middle class, business elite and political elite respectively around the following three issues: 1) access to basic services and the notion of the 'Developmental State'; 2) economic transformation a nd the ANC's version of a 'mixed economy'; 3) incomes: employment and access to key assets.