This paper is based on data from interviews with a number of mostly Western Cape based companies and employees with the objective of understanding the barriers to the achievement of employment equity for African people. The research was initiated by businesses that have head offices in the...

The aim of this paper is to highlight key issues arising from regional trade integration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as the concomitant policies required to facilitate the trade process. The paper highlights issues pertaining to distribution effects arising from...

This working paper applies the Foster Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) (1984) index of poverty measures to the subsistence fishing industry in South Africa in order to evaluate the impact of resource transfers on poverty. The sample of subsistence communities was identified by the Chief Directorate:...

Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs) form an integral part of the South African government strategy to attract investment. SDIs are claimed to be short-term and targeted undertakings to foster economic growth. This working paper reviews two SDI projects, namely the Maputo Development Corridor...

This working paper analyses consumer indebtedness among urban South African households. The theoretical basis of the topic lies within consumption theory, and the empirical exercises are conducted on Part Two of the October Household Survey – the Income and Expenditure Survey (Statistics South...

The labour market is central in determining individual and household well-being in South Africa. Therefore, an understanding of earnings and employment dynamics is a key policy issue. However, the absence of panel data has constrained empirical work addressing these topics. This paper conducts...

This paper welcomes the fact that the discussion about the labour market and small business has broadened in scope. It considers some of the suggestions made by Cheadle (2006) in his recent concept paper. These include dismissals, unfair labour practices, appointments and promotions and...

Regulatory compliance costs impose a deadweight burden on firms and therefore should be minimised. In achieving this goal, it is necessary to embrace a process of smart regulation, rather than focus on deregulation. Tax compliance cost is one type of regulatory costs that is often viewed to have...

This paper documents the phenomenal contribution that technikons have made to the development of human resources in South Africa, particularly high level human resources throughout the period of the 1990s. This is done by examining the enrolment and qualifications profile of technikons over a...

This paper utilises a basic simulation exercise to analyse the possible poverty and employment reducing effects, of instituting a minimum wage in the South African labour market. The simulation is undertaken for three groups of unskilled workers, namely domestic workers, farm workers and...