The evolution and determination of earnings inequality in post-apartheid South Africa

Finn, Arden; Leibbrandt, Murray

doi:10.35188/unu-wider/2018/525-1

Cited by 18 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…As such, changes in labour market income must be analysed in more detail. A step in this direction is found the work of Finn and Leibbrandt (2018), which reviews recent research on the post-apartheid earnings distribution and then, in very much the same spirit as this paper, conducts new empirical analysis on changes in earnings inequality over the post-apartheid period. Earnings inequality has increased since 2008.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Drivers of inequality in South Africa

Hundenborn¹,

Woolard²,

Leibbrandt³

2018

WIDER Working Paper

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Drivers of inequality in South Africa

Hundenborn¹,

Woolard²,

Leibbrandt³

2018

WIDER Working Paper

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“…Second, for both men and women there was an increase in wages at the mean in the period 1993-2015, but earnings at the median seem to have stagnated. Several researchers analysing wage inequality in South Africa have tried to explain this puzzle (Finn and Leibbrandt 2018;Hosking 2016;Wittenberg 2016a).…”

Section: Earningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They attribute this anomaly to imputations done on the QLFS earnings variable by Statistics South Africa. Finn and Leibbrandt (2018), looking at the evolution of earnings inequality in South Africa, also report that earnings inequality shows a steep increase between 2012 and 2014, which is puzzling.…”

Section: Dfl Aggregate Decompositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributional changes in the gender wage gap in the post-apartheid South African labour market

Mosomi¹

2019

WIDER Working Paper

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte.Abstract: This paper investigates the evolution of the gender wage gap in South Africa, using the 1993-2015 Post-Apartheid Labour Market Series data set. The changes in the gap are heterogeneous across the wage distribution. There has been a substantial narrowing of the gap at the bottom of the distribution, attributable to the implementation of the minimum wage in lowpaying industries However, the median gender wage gap is substantial at 23-35 per cent. This is unexplained by differences in human capital characteristics, and is not declining over time. This implies that wage-employed women in South Africa have better human capital characteristics than men. Contrary to previous literature, the wage gap at the mean narrowed from 40 per cent in 1993 to 16 per cent in 2014. The gap at the 90 th percentile declined during 1993-2005, but has expanded in recent years. This is due to a continually expanding unexplained component of the wage gap, which is usually associated with discrimination.

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“…While average real wages increased by 49.3% from 2000 to 2017, median wages increased by only 16.9% between 2000 and 2011 and have been on a downward trend since. The South African labor market has been experiencing skill-biased growth and median earners have been the losers during this period [1], [4], [5], [6].…”

Section: Unemploymentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The labor market in South Africa, 2000–2017

Mosomi¹,

Wittenberg²

2020

izawol

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South Africa differentiated itself in the 20th century by embarking on a social experiment (grand apartheid) which intervened extensively in all facets of its citizens' lives, including the labor market. With the demise of apartheid and reintegration into the world economy, South Africa's 21st century labor market dynamics increasingly resemble those of other economies, with a widening of the earnings distribution, particularly at the top. Nevertheless, there are still important vestiges of the late apartheid era, including a high unemployment rate, significant union power, and persistent racial and gender premia. Cons A low employment rate and stable labor force participation have resulted in high unemployment, especially for youth. Continued demand for skilled labor and a small tertiary educated labor force have led to very high wages at the top of the wage distribution and worsening wage inequality. The median worker seems to be the loser in the South African labor market. While pro-poor policies such as minimum wage laws raise wages at the bottom, high skill premiums have raised wages at the top, leaving median wages stagnant. Pros The labor force has become more educated since 2000. Average earnings increased in the period between 2000 and 2017. While still substantial overall, the gender wage gap declined at the bottom of the wage distribution and at the mean. THE ELEVATOR PITCH The South African economy was on a positive growth trajectory from 2003 to 2008 but, like other economies around the world, it was not spared from the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis. The economy has not recovered and employment in South Africa has not yet returned to its pre-crisis levels. Overall inequality has not declined, and median wages seem to have stagnated in the post-apartheid period. Labor force participation has been stable and although progress has been made, gender imbalances persist.

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The evolution and determination of earnings inequality in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract: This study has been prepared within the UNU-WIDER project on 'Inequality in the Giants'.

Cited by 18 publications

References 10 publications

Drivers of inequality in South Africa

Drivers of inequality in South Africa

Distributional changes in the gender wage gap in the post-apartheid South African labour market

The labor market in South Africa, 2000–2017

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