Resource Intensity, Knowledge and Development: insights from Africa and Latin America
Minerals economies often struggle to diversify their industrial base. Lorenzten considers opportunities for industrial diversification stimulated in resource based industries. This know-how can then migrate laterally to other industrial uses. The resource-based technology clusters programme of the Human Sciences Research Council and Mintek proposed that this could be an important way for minerals economies to…
read more >>The Employment Creation Potential of Recycling in South Africa
Lowitt assesses the job creation potential of South Africa’s recycling industry and whether government could promote employment in this area. The first section of the paper reviews the debate on the role of recycling in industrial production and the options available to governments for strategically positioning such activities in the short and long run. This…
read more >>ICT investment & jobs – Country case studies
South Africa’s aspiration for 2020 is to achieve 100% broadband coverage, while maximising both economic and employment growth. A number of paths can be followed to achieve this target: enabling digital citizens, supporting the industry, and building global leadership in ICT products and services. These dimensions are not sequential. For example, India was not a…
read more >>Exchange Rate and Employment: The Experience of Fast-Growing Economies
This paper forms part of an Human Sciences Research Council project on exchange rates and employment, which seeks to understand the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on employment in South Africa. Ngandu examines the exchange rate policies of countries that achieved rapid, labour-absorbing growth. While exchange rates are only one instrument in an employment and…
read more >>International Experience with Worker-side and Employer-side Wage and Employment Subsidies, and Job Search Assistance Programs: Implications for South Africa
Smith summarises international experience with labour market interventions aimed to improve employment, particularly among disadvantaged job seekers. These interventions include firm-side wage and employment subsidies, worker-side wage and employment subsidies, and job search assistance programmes. The review then assesses which policies are particularly relevant to South Africa’s unique labour market situation. Because active support for…
read more >>Innovation in Resource-Based Technology Clusters: Investigating the Lateral Migration Thesis
Lorenzten considers opportunities for industrial diversification stimulated in resource based industries. This paper contributed to a joint programme of the Human Sciences Research Council and Mintek to explore innovation aimed at addressing the requirements of a country’s resource industries. This know-how can then migrate laterally to other industrial uses. The resource-based technology clusters programme of…
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