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Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613882494746624 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Piek, Marlies |
| author2 | Von Fintel, Dieter |
| author_browse | Piek, Marlies Von Fintel, Dieter |
| author_facet | Von Fintel, Dieter Piek, Marlies |
| author_sort | Piek, Marlies |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description |
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132503 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:12.690Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132503 Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records Piek, Marlies Von Fintel, Dieter Van der Berg, Servaas Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics. Minimum wage -- Agriculture -- South Africa Agricultural wages -- South Africa Agricultural wages -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Piek, M. 2025. Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages: evidence from South African administrative tax records. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/53b92f4d-159f-4083-9f8e-097d90b58ac1 ENGLISH SUMMARY: Minimum wages are used globally as a tool to ensure minimum pay for low-income workers and to ultimately improve their living standards. However, despite the wide use of minimum wages, the impact of minimum wages on a range of market factors, including production, employment and poverty is not fully understood – even the impact on employment is not fully understood, despite a large body of evidence that spans across decades. This dissertation contributes to the minimum wage literature in a few ways. Firstly, the literature has emphasised that the market structure influences the impact of minimum wages. Chapter Two therefore provides an overview of the structure, concentration and farm dynamics in the agricultural sector – the sector that experienced a large minimum wage increase that is studied in Chapters Three and Four. The chapter shows that employment and revenue generation are concentrated among large farms, that potential barriers to entry exist in the sector and that small farms have the least stable operations and have the highest probabilities of exiting the market. They are therefore also likely to be more vulnerable to changes in labour market legislation. Secondly, within the literature studying the minimum wage-employment relationship, the main focus has been on changes in net changes to employment without understanding how firms adjust their workforce. Chapter Three investigates the impact of a large minimum wage hike in the South African agricultural sector on worker flows – entry and separation – and the combined result these flows have on employment growth rates. Chapter Three shows that employment growth for non-seasonal work decreased after the minimum wage increase which was driven mainly by lower entry rates in the short-run. This temporarily led to higher barriers to entry for non-seasonal work. Moreover, the lowest-paid seasonal workers were likely replaced with slightly more productive low-income workers. Within the context of high unemployment in South Africa, the trade-off between higher wages that workers received following the minimum wage hike and lower employment growth and higher barriers to entry in the short run need to be weighed up. While the minimum wage literature has established that enforcement plays an important role in determining the impacts of minimum wages, it has focused on local enforcement – such as if and how local authorities enforce minimum wage legislation. Chapter Four contributes to this literature by showing that external enforcement – via international private standards – matters for how minimum wages affect firms and worker decisions. This highlights another adjustment mechanism in response to minimum wages that has, to the best of my knowledge, not been studied before. Exporters that export to countries that require adherence to voluntary but de facto private standards – including compliance with local labour laws – need to decide whether to continue exporting and if so, to continue exporting to the same countries or divert trade to countries that have less stringent requirements on exporters. Chapter Four shows that some exporters temporarily divert trade away from export destinations where stringent private standards are in place that require adherence to minimum wage legislation. This dissertation shows how using administrative data can fill remaining gaps in the large minimum wage literature, especially where dynamics effects and international trade are concerned. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Minimum lone word wereldwyd as ’n instrument gebruik om minimum vergoeding vir lae-inkomste werkers te verseker en hul lewenstandaarde te verbeter. Ondanks die wye gebruik van minimum lone, is die impak daarvan op verskeie markfaktore, insluitend produksie, indiensneming en armoede, nie volledig ontleed nie – selfs die impak op indiensneming, ten spyte van 'n groot hoeveelheid navorsing oor dekades heen, bly onvolledig verstaan. Hierdie tesis dra op verskeie maniere by tot die literatuur oor minimum lone. Die literatuur beklemtoon dat markstruktuur die impak van minimum lone beinvloed. Hoofstuk 2 verskaf daarom ’n oorsig van die struktuur, konsentrasie en firma dinamika in die landbousektor – die sektor wat ’n groot toename in minimum lone ervaar het, soos bestudeer in Hoofstukke 3 en 4. Hierdie hoofstuk toon aan dat indiensneming en inkomste hoofsaaklik by groot plase gekonsentreer is, dat potensiele toetredingshindernisse in die sektor bestaan, en dat klein plase die minste stabiele bedrywighede het en die hoogste waarskynlikhede toon om die mark te verlaat. Hulle is dus ook waarskynlik meer kwesbaar vir veranderinge in arbeidsmarkwetgewing. Tweedens, binne die literatuur wat die verband tussen minimum lone en indiensneming bestudeer, het die fokus hoofsaaklik op veranderinge in netto indiensneming geval, sonder om te begryp hoe ondernemings hul werksmag aanpas. Hoofstuk 3 ondersoek die impak van ’n groot minimum loontoename in die Suid-Afrikaanse landbousektor op werkersbewegings – toetrede en uittrede – en die gesamentlike gevolg wat hierdie bewegings op indiensnemingsgroeikoerse het. Hoofstuk 3 toon dat indiensnemingsgroei afgeneem het na die loontoename, wat hoofsaaklik aangedryf is deur laer toetredingskoerse vir nie-seisoenale werkers op die korttermyn. Dit het tydelik gelei tot hoer toetredingshindernisse, en die laagste betaalde seisoenale werkers is waarskynlik vervang deur effens meer produktiewe lae-inkomste werkers. Binne die konteks van hoe werkloosheid in Suid-Afrika moet die afweging tussen hoer lone wat werkers ontvang het na die loontoename en die laer indiensnemingsgroei en hoer toetredingshindernisse op die korttermyn deeglik oorweeg word. Terwyl die minimum loon-literatuur bevind dat wetstoepassing ’n belangrike rol speel in die bepaling van die impakte van minimum lone, fokus studies meestal op plaaslike wetstoepassing – soos of en hoe plaaslike owerhede minimum loonwetgewing afdwing. Hoofstuk 4 dra by tot hierdie literatuur deur te wys dat eksterne wetstoepassingsmeganismes –via internasionale private standaarde – saakmaak vir hoe minimum lone ondernemings enwerkersbesluite beinvloed. Dit beklemtoon ’n ander aanpassingsmeganisme in reaksie op minimum lone wat, sover my kennis strek, nie voorheen bestudeer is nie. Uitvoerders wat uitvoer na lande wat vereis dat hulle voldoen aan vrywillige, maar de facto private standaarde –insluitend nakoming van plaaslike arbeidswette – moet besluit of hulle sal aanhou uitvoer,en indien wel, of hulle aan dieselfde lande sal uitvoer of handel sal herlei na lande met minder streng vereistes. Hoofstuk 4 wys dat sommige uitvoerders tydelik handel herlei weg van bestemmings waar streng private standaarde in plek is wat nakoming van minimum loonwetgewing vereis. Hierdie proefskrif toon hoe die gebruik van administratiewe data die oorblywende gapings in die omvangryke literatuur oor minimum lone kan vul, veral met betrekking tot dinamiese effekte en internasionale handel. Doctoral 2025-06-10T08:04:57Z 2025-06-10T08:04:57Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132503 en_ZA Stellenbosch University xix, 226 pages : illustrations, includes annexures application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Minimum wage -- Agriculture -- South Africa Agricultural wages -- South Africa Agricultural wages -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa UCTD Piek, Marlies Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records |
| title | Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records |
| title_full | Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records |
| title_fullStr | Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records |
| title_short | Farm dynamics, sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages : evidence from South African administrative tax records |
| title_sort | farm dynamics sectoral structure and agricultural minimum wages evidence from south african administrative tax records |
| topic | Minimum wage -- Agriculture -- South Africa Agricultural wages -- South Africa Agricultural wages -- Economic aspects -- South Africa Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- South Africa UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132503 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT piekmarlies farmdynamicssectoralstructureandagriculturalminimumwagesevidencefromsouthafricanadministrativetaxrecords |