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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Unemployment in South Africa, 1995-2003: Causes, Problems and Policies
Authors:Kingdon, GeetaISNI
Knight, JohnISNI
Year:2007
Periodical:Journal of African Economies
Volume:16
Issue:5
Period:November
Pages:813-848
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:unemployment
labour policy
History and Exploration
Labor and Employment
Economics and Trade
Law, Human Rights and Violence
Development and Technology
External link:https://jae.oxfordjournals.org/content/16/5/813.full.pdf
Abstract:This paper examines unemployment and its rise in South Africa. It explains the factors behind the sharp rise in unemployment in the postapartheid period, investigates the role of labour legislation and the system of labour market governance, evaluates the impact of the government's active labour market policies, identifies the knowledge gaps about the functioning of the labour market and draws some policy prescriptions. It analyses unemployment using household surveys spanning 1995-2003 and explains the rise in unemployment by the slow growth of the economy, and thus slow growth in the demand for labour relative to the rapidly growing supply, together with labour market inflexibility. The paper argues that if unemployment is to be tackled, it is crucial to pursue a set of policies that promote South Africa's rate of economic growth to promote job creation, and also that labour market regulations require reconsideration, giving greater weight to the concerns of employers and investors, and to the interests of the unemployed and informally employed poor who are beyond the reach of the labour institutions but can be hurt by them nevertheless. It highlights that lack of appropriate data hinders analysis of important aspects such as entry into, exit from and duration of unemployment. Finally, the paper appeals for investigation of how active labour market policies to address unemployment have performed. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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