Formal/Informal Linkages in South Africa: Some Considerations
To know how the economy might meet the target of halving unemployment by 2014, the Employment Scenarios project investigated how the informal sector might grow. How much of the employment target is likely to be reached through growth in the informal economy? Is the informal sector likely to continue growing in the period leading up…
read more >>Exploring Economic Behaviour in South Africa’s Informal Economy
“This report contributes to a larger project of the Human Sciences Research Council, the School of Development Studies and IFPRI, which seeks to understand the competitive behaviour of informal firms in a growing economy. The main components of the project are a background conceptual paper; a social accounting matrix (SAM) that explores the relationship between…
read more >>Informal Traders Survey Questionnaire
This is the Informal Traders Survey, deployed in support of the paper: Exploring Economic Behaviour in South Africa’s Informal Economy. It is provided as a research tool.
read more >>Formal-Informal economy linkages: Some conceptual and empirical issues
This report contributes to a larger project on the competitive behaviour of informal firms in a growing economy. Valodia et al explore the idea of a ‘second economy’. Notwithstanding the conceptual problems associated with the idea of a second economy, its prominence in public policy debates offers a unique space to enhance the linkages between…
read more >>An overview of preferential procurement in South Africa: Government initiatives and private sector responses
Fostering the development and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is critically important to expanding employment and promoting economic inclusion, especially for historically disadvantaged groups and youth. However, South Africa’s has a highly concentrated formal sector, dominated by large and well-established companies. This creates significant barriers to entry for new SME’s. Supplying goods and…
read more >>Employment Creation Through the Provision of Social Development Services: Exploring the Options
The high unemployment rate in South Africa is a central concern of policy makers. Because there are only a few substantial labour intensive industries, led by the private sector, it has become essential to explore other less mainstream avenues for employment creation. The role of public works programmes has historically focused on the infrastructure sector,…
read more >>An Overview of Preferential Procurement in South Africa: Government Initiatives and Private Sector Responses
Fostering the development and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a key issue in increasing employment opportunities and raising personal incomes. In addition, supporting the growth of SMEs owned by previously disadvantaged groups, black women and young people is important for achieving a more equitable economy. However, given the structure of the formal…
read more >>Overview of the policy and institutional landscape for enterprise development and preferential procurement in South Africa
Pillay and Phillips review the South African policy and institutional landscape for preferential procurement and enterprise development. They focus on the use of these two BBBEE Code elements in broader socio-economic development. The various Acts, strategies, policies and industry sector charters all have a common goal: empowering previously disadvantaged individuals through meaningful participation in the…
read more >>Leveraging Services for Employment, Growth and Equity: Enhancing the Impact of Procurement on Employment Creation
This paper consolidates existing research and data on procurement and employment in South Africa; estimate the total current procurement spend across all three spheres of government, as well as the major procurement items; provide a problem analysis of the constraints to and opportunities for increasing the contribution of procurement to employment creation; develops a draft…
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