When COVID-19 struck South Africa in 2020, the country faced an economic emergency on an unprecedented scale. Millions of workers lost incomes almost overnight. Hunger surged, and existing systems of food relief quickly became overwhelmed. 

At the centre of the policy response was research connected to the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) at the University of Oxford. Through close collaboration with South African policymakers and institutions, CSAE researchers including Kate Orkin and Rocco Zizzamia helped shape one of the largest expansions of social protection seen anywhere in the developing world during the pandemic. 

The result was transformative. South Africa shifted from emergency food parcels to direct cash transfers, ultimately distributing more than £7 billion in grants to around 28 million people. The programme is estimated to have prevented millions from falling into severe poverty and hunger, while creating Africa’s first large-scale unemployment grant for working-age adults. 

The story captures a defining feature of CSAE research: combining rigorous academic evidence with practical policy engagement capable of shaping decisions in real time.

For decades, many governments preferred food aid over cash assistance, fearing that poor households would misuse direct payments or become dependent on welfare. 

Research connected to CSAE challenged those assumptions. Before the pandemic, Kate Orkin and collaborators had been involved in largescale research on unconditional cash transfers in Kenya. The findings showed that households used cash productively: improving food security, investing in housing and businesses, and searching for work. By the time COVID-19 emerged, a substantial global evidence base demonstrated that direct cash support could be an effective and dignified form of welfare provision. That evidence became critical during the crisis

South Africa entered the pandemic with high unemployment and widespread informal work. Millions of people had no access to unemployment insurance or stable income support. Initial efforts to distribute food parcels struggled to meet the scale of need. 

Researchers linked to CSAE worked closely with South African government departments alongside collaborators at the University of Cape Town, including Ingrid Woolard, Murray Leibbrandt and others, to help design an alternative response. 

At the same time, Rocco Zizzamia and colleagues including Ihsaan Bassier, Joshua Budlender, Vimal Ranchhod and Murray Leibbrandt examined how South Africa’s existing grants system could be repurposed to support informal workers and unemployed adults. Not only advocating for the grant package, Zizzamia and his fellow researchers also played an active role in the evaluation of the policies: including contributing to the design and implementation of a nationally representative rapid remote survey (NIDS CRAM) and policy evaluation papers which assessed the impact of the policies that had been introduced. 

Using household survey data and economic modelling, the teams analysed which combinations of grants would most effectively reduce poverty and hunger. Rather than expanding food distribution, the research recommended scaling up direct cash assistance. The government adopted many of these recommendations. 

Existing child support and pension grants received temporary top-ups, while a completely new Social Relief of Distress grant was introduced for unemployed adults who had previously been excluded from welfare support altogether. Within weeks, the number of people receiving assistance expanded from around 1.2 million food parcel beneficiaries to approximately 28 million recipients of cash transfers.

The impact was immediate. Research suggested the programme prevented around 5.5 million people from falling into severe food poverty during the early months of the pandemic. 

Just as importantly, the policy shift challenged longstanding ideas about welfare dependency. Evidence showed that recipients often used the grants to search for work and support economic activity within their communities. 

The experience also demonstrated the importance of long-term research partnerships. CSAE researchers were able to contribute effectively because of deep collaborations with South African institutions and policymakers, particularly through the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town. 

The work highlighted how research can influence policy not simply through academic publication, but through sustained engagement, rapid analysis, and responsiveness to policymakers’ needs during moments of crisis.

What began as an emergency response evolved into something much larger: a national debate about the future of social protection in South Africa. 

Initially introduced as temporary relief, the Social Relief of Distress grant became politically and socially difficult to remove. The programme continues to shape discussions around unemployment support, basic income, and welfare reform in South Africa today. 

The work of Kate Orkin, Rocco Zizzamia and their collaborators stands as a powerful example of CSAE’s mission in practice: rigorous research combined with real-world policy impact. At a moment of profound uncertainty, CSAE-linked research helped South Africa move toward a new model of social protection, one grounded not in suspicion of poor households, but in evidence, dignity, and trust.