Manufacturing Exports and Employment Growth
by DAVIES, R. , 2006Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council
Davies considers the role of manufacturing exports in creating employment. It looks at the potential and limitations of the sector itself, and also its interaction with other sectors. He assesses where export growth might occur, and the contribution of different sectors to such growth, given their labour intensity, backward and forward linkages, and export dependence….
read more >>Promotion of Secondary Industrial Development & Clustering in Mpumalanga: stainless steel and chemicals clusters
by ALTMAN, M., MAYER, M., STEYN, G., SLATER, D., GOSTNER, K., LETLAPE, L., DANIELS, R., and Blueprint Strategy & Policy, 2003Research report, Employment and Economic Policy Research, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria. Prepared for the Department of Economic Affairs, Gaming and Tourism, Mpumalanga Province
“Altman et al. assess the potential for the development of a stainless steel cluster in the Middleburg/ Witbank area and a general petrochemicals cluster in Secunda. They identify concrete opportunities that would provide a platform for the development of small and medium enterprises that will generate employment opportunities. They reveal opportunities for cluster development in…
read more >>What Theory and International Experience Suggest about the Role of Manufacturing in Good Employment Growth for South Africa
by BERRY, A. , 2006Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council
Although econometric evidence is not very strong, there seems no reason to doubt that parts of the manufacturing sector have been drivers of growth in many countries. Much microeconomic evidence attests to technological progress within manufacturing and a considerable spillover to other sectors. This spillover may be direct (manufacturing produces machinery and equipment that raise…
read more >>Manufacturing Employment and Import Dependence
by DAVIES, R. , 2006Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council
Prof Rob Davies assesses the potential of promoting South Africa’s manufacturing sector through reduced import dependence. He explores two versions of the argument. The first suggests that it would be beneficial to reduce the imported component of inputs into manufacturing production. Imported inputs into manufacturing rose from 13.0% of gross output in 1993 to 15.9%…
read more >>Formal / Informal Linkages in South Africa: Some Considerations
by VALODIA,I., 2006Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council
Informal employment in South Africa grew from 965,000 to just over 2.3-million workers between 1997 and 2005, rising from about 10% to 18% of the employed workforce. Notwithstanding the difficulties and debates about data issues, it is widely accepted that informal employment grew rapidly in the late 1990s, and stabilised in the 2000s. In this…
read more >>Informal Employment In South Africa
by VALODIA,I., 2007Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council
Employment policy in South Africa has paid limited attention to the informal economy. From the early 1990s, the informal economy grew substantially, and yet still accounts for a small proportion of employment relative to other developing countries. The co-existence of high unemployment and a small informal economy is poorly understood in SA. Valodia explores the…
read more >>Organising Capabilities of Steet Traders Particularly Women
by MOTALA, S, 2008Agenda, 22:78, 208-219
In August 2008, Heads of State of the South African Development Community (SADC) adopted the SADC Gender and Development Protocol aimed at advancing gender equality across all spheres of life. Gender-blind economic policy making in South Africa and elsewhere is responsible for exposing women to low paid and hazardous employment, without income security or protection….
read more >>Formal-Informal Economy Linkages and Unemployment in South Africa
by DAVIES, R. & THURLOW, J., 2009Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council
South Africa’s high involuntary unemployment and small informal sector are attributed to an underperforming formal sector and barriers to entry into the informal sector. Davies and Thurlow examine the economy-wide linkages between the formal and informal economies, while accounting for different types of informal activities. A multi-region, empirically calibrated computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is…
read more >>Formal-Informal Economy Linkages
by ALTMAN, M., 2008Research Report, Employment Growth & Development Initiative, Human Sciences Research Council
The term informal sector, informal economy, ‘second economy’ and informality is often used interchangeably. Altman defines ‘informality’ to entail precariousness, in that the activity operates beyond bureaucratic rules or regulations. This is an important concept for poor working people. Focusing policy on structural solutions to reduce precariousness in household livelihoods is particularly important in a…
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