Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing
The aim of this research paper is to investigate the employment outcomes in South African manufacturing between 1972 and 2016. The research employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis in demonstrating how South Africa's manufacturing sector has become increasingly capital-intensiv...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
School of Economics
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613333322989568 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Mercer, Sean |
| author2 | Black, Anthony |
| author_browse | Black, Anthony Mercer, Sean |
| author_facet | Black, Anthony Mercer, Sean |
| author_sort | Mercer, Sean |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The aim of this research paper is to investigate the employment outcomes in South African manufacturing between 1972 and 2016. The research employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis in demonstrating how South Africa's manufacturing sector has become increasingly capital-intensive, with aggregate manufacturing employment falling by approximately 600 thousand jobs between 1982 – 2016. The investigation highlights the influence of industrial policy decisions in this outcome, creating a bias towards investment in capital-intensive manufacturing industries. This trend has continued post-1994, despite government's repeated commitment to job creation and strategic policy support for more labour-intensive industries. A further investigation of the manufacturing sector at a sub-industry level indicates that while capital-intensity has increased in capital and labour-intensive industries alike, the increase in aggregate manufacturing capital-intensity is due primarily to capital-intensive industries expanding their share of aggregate capital stock and output relative to labour-intensive industries. Consequently, South Africa's revealed comparative advantage lies, somewhat paradoxically, in capital-intensive production, contrasting the manufacturing sectors in similar comparator countries. To ensure a rigorous investigation of the aforementioned outcomes, the paper examines the common notion that South African real wages are too high to be competitive in labour-intensive production. The findings indicate that poor labour productivity is an equally important contributor to uncompetitive unit labour costs relative to competitor countries. As a means of addressing these challenges, utilizing a practical example, the paper proposes the use of special economic zones to create an environment from which labour-intensive production can thrive. It highlights the potential of targeted industrial policies, in a controlled environment to reduce the cost of labour whilst simultaneously improving productivity over time. Utilizing various instruments, for example wage subsidies, the example illustrates how such an approach is a cost-effective way of encouraging investment in labour-intensive industries, simultaneously offering a solution to more meaningful employment creation in South African manufacturing. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/32807 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:28.941Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | School of Economics |
| publisherStr | School of Economics |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/32807 An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing Mercer, Sean Black, Anthony economics The aim of this research paper is to investigate the employment outcomes in South African manufacturing between 1972 and 2016. The research employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis in demonstrating how South Africa's manufacturing sector has become increasingly capital-intensive, with aggregate manufacturing employment falling by approximately 600 thousand jobs between 1982 – 2016. The investigation highlights the influence of industrial policy decisions in this outcome, creating a bias towards investment in capital-intensive manufacturing industries. This trend has continued post-1994, despite government's repeated commitment to job creation and strategic policy support for more labour-intensive industries. A further investigation of the manufacturing sector at a sub-industry level indicates that while capital-intensity has increased in capital and labour-intensive industries alike, the increase in aggregate manufacturing capital-intensity is due primarily to capital-intensive industries expanding their share of aggregate capital stock and output relative to labour-intensive industries. Consequently, South Africa's revealed comparative advantage lies, somewhat paradoxically, in capital-intensive production, contrasting the manufacturing sectors in similar comparator countries. To ensure a rigorous investigation of the aforementioned outcomes, the paper examines the common notion that South African real wages are too high to be competitive in labour-intensive production. The findings indicate that poor labour productivity is an equally important contributor to uncompetitive unit labour costs relative to competitor countries. As a means of addressing these challenges, utilizing a practical example, the paper proposes the use of special economic zones to create an environment from which labour-intensive production can thrive. It highlights the potential of targeted industrial policies, in a controlled environment to reduce the cost of labour whilst simultaneously improving productivity over time. Utilizing various instruments, for example wage subsidies, the example illustrates how such an approach is a cost-effective way of encouraging investment in labour-intensive industries, simultaneously offering a solution to more meaningful employment creation in South African manufacturing. 2021-02-10T10:30:54Z 2021-02-10T10:30:54Z 2020 2021-02-10T10:30:31Z Master Thesis Masters MCom http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32807 eng application/pdf School of Economics Faculty of Commerce |
| spellingShingle | economics Mercer, Sean An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing |
| title_full | An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing |
| title_fullStr | An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing |
| title_full_unstemmed | An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing |
| title_short | An investigation of employment outcomes in South African manufacturing |
| title_sort | investigation of employment outcomes in south african manufacturing |
| topic | economics |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32807 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mercersean aninvestigationofemploymentoutcomesinsouthafricanmanufacturing AT mercersean investigationofemploymentoutcomesinsouthafricanmanufacturing |