Structural transformation, labour markets, and inequality dynamics

Despite its position as the economic hub of the Southern African region, South Africa has the unenviable position of being the most unequal society in the world. This work stream attempts to understand how historical, social, economic, financial, fiscal, and environmental issues contribute to this inequality.

Researchers will analyze these contributions to deep inequality while looking at the demographic, social, and labour market dynamics that contribute to the persistence of poverty and inequality. Through this work, we aim to provide policymakers with insights and solutions that can strengthen the emerging policy options on reducing poverty and inequality and contributing to inclusive growth.

What data is used for this research?

A new dataset provides previously unavailable administrative tax data which will allow researchers to look more deeply at inequality dynamics, particularly the labour market dynamics that condition it. In Phase II, work stream 3 will continue to develop this novel dataset, augmenting it with additional data sources from other government institutions.

Blog
Shakeba Foster
South Africa ranks as the world’s most unequal country by income. This is largely due to high wage inequality, given that wages are the main income source for the majority of the working population. Exploring...
January 2024
Labour market and inequality
Working paper
Jacomien Van der Merwe and Tom de Jong
Addressing unemployment and income inequalities in transport and land-use policies is important, particularly in South Africa, which is currently experiencing one of the highest unemployment rates and income inequality in the world. This research investigates...
December 2023
Labour market and inequality
Working paper
Shakeba Foster
This paper investigates the role of firm characteristics in driving wage inequality and firm wage premia in the South African labour market. The Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (AKM) and Kline, Saggio, and Sølvsten (KSS) regression-based...
October 2023
Labour market and inequality
Working paper
Michelle Pleace, Matthew Clance and Nicky Nicholls
The attainment of financial independence by women holds significant importance for women’s empowerment and has implications for the increasing prevalence of female-headed households in the country. Previous estimates of the gender wage gap in South...
October 2023
Labour market and inequality
News
SA-TIED
SA-TIED marked a significant milestone on 13 October 2023, by hosting an inaugural National Treasury Secure Data Facility (NTSDF) data lab roadshow at the University of Pretoria . The event featured a presentation by the...
October 2023
Enterprise development
Public revenue
Labour market and inequality
Macro-fiscal analysis
Climate and energy
Reform implementation
Working paper
Kate Orkin, Maya Goldman, Brynde Kreft, Ntuthuko Hlela, Jessica Nicklin, Ingrid Woolard, and Murray Leibbrandt
The special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant (hereafter ‘SRD’) is an excellent investment of government spending because it reduces poverty and can increase job search. The SRD in its current form has led to...
OCTOBER 2023
Labour market and inequality
Blog
Mthokozisi Tshuma
Nearly half the working-age population and nearly two-thirds of the unemployed live in areas designated as townships under apartheid spatial laws. Originally developed as “labour dormitories”, they have been challenging to develop as more vibrant...
JULY 2023
Labour market and inequality
Working paper
Andrew R. Donaldson
Andrew R. Donaldson March 2023 Tax administration statistics now provide considerably more complete and reliable measures of South African personal income and its distribution than the available household or other survey sources. However, there are...
March 2023
Labour market and inequality
Technical workshop
19 Apr 2023 / 10:00 to 20 Apr 2023 / 17:30
Enterprise development
Public revenue
Labour market and inequality
Date: 19 and 20 April 2023 Time: 09:00–16:30 GMT +2 Location: Protea Hotel Johannesburg Balalaika Sandton On the 19th and 20th of April 2023, SA-TIED will host a Work-in-progress author workshop for workstreams 1-3. This...
Blog
Joshua Budlender and Amina Ebrahim
The Employment Tax Incentive was introduced in 2014 in response to South Africa’s chronic structural youth unemployment crisis. Its aim was to encourage employers to hire young people by subsidizing their wages. ‘High youth unemployment,’...
November 2022
Labour market and inequality
Report
Sarah Truen
After the South African democratic transition, substantial advances were made in the provision of water services to households which had previously not been supplied. However, more recently, the pace of progress has slowed, and technical...
July 2022
Labour market and inequality
Phase 1 regional growth
News
SA-TIED
To showcase key lessons from SA-TIED phase I, the programme produced a series of eight videos that feature the major accomplishments from each of the six work streams and the data lab. Watch all eight...
February 2022
Enterprise development
Public revenue
Labour market and inequality
Macro-fiscal analysis
Climate and energy
Reform implementation
Phase 1 regional growth