Unemployment, Education and Skills Constraints in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Two Policies to Alleviate Unemployment in South Africa

At transition in 1994, the new South African government inherited an economy that had systematically disadvantaged most of the population. For almost a half century, Blacks1 had been subject to an intentionally second-class education, labor laws that precluded their advancement, business regulations that outlawed many forms of firm ownership, and laws that kept them from living in the metropoli...

Racial Disparities in Schooling: Evidence From Cape-Town, South Africa

Racial disparities in education in South Africa have been large and enduring post-apartheid. However, moving beyond simple descriptions of these disparities to a more detailed explanation has proven to be elusive. In this dissertation, I develop and estimate a dynamic model of schooling and labor supply of youths in South Africa, and use it to study several potential explanations for the racial...

Fertility Transition in South Africa and Its Implications on the Four Major Population Groups

In general there seems to be widespread agreement that fertility began to decline among all major population groups in South Africa prior to the end of apartheid. It occurred at a much faster level for Whites and Asians as compared to Africans and Coloureds. This occurred amidst the impoverishment of millions (especially African women), stark inequalities and the disempowerment of women. Althou...

Racial Categories as Resources and Constraints in Everyday Interactions: Implications for Racialism and Non-Racialism in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Finding solutions to complex social problems in South Africa

In the midst of political stability and strong economic growth, post-apartheid South Africa is faced with the stubborn reality of widespread poverty and growing inequality. As economic empowerment benefits an expanding, mainly urban black middle class, the majority of people continue to live in poverty and mass unemployment. As the country's remarkable and peaceful transition to democracy unfol...