Economywide consequences of attaining Millenium Development Goals in South Africa

Abstract : South Africa has committed to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030 in its National Development Plan. To realise this, it will be critical to make strides in attaining the Millennium Development Goals. This paper uses a computable general equilibrium model to show the complexities of trade-offs between attaining these goals and their financing. There are clear spillover benefits from attaining goals such as universal primary education, and combating HIV-AIDS that the model takes into account. The conclusions point to the need for weighing up merits of different policies against their cost.