Abstract
This study examines the drivers of the steady decline in South Africa’s private sector labour share between 1971 and 2019. The focus on South Africa is instructive as its distributional contestation is bounded in a matrix of racial conflict. Crucial reforms on trade, finance and welfare were undertaken since 1994, but the study finds little evidence that the extension of the franchise promoted egalitarianism, since white economic elites invested in de facto political power. This study employs an Unrestricted Error Correction Model to estimate the drivers of the private sector labour share, and the findings suggest that globalisation, financialisation and public spending have decreased the labour share, while the effects of education have been positive but insufficient to halt the decline.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 184-207 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Economic and Industrial Democracy |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 19 Dec 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2021.
Research Groups and Themes
- Perspectives on Work
- International Development
- Global Political Economy
Keywords
- Democratisation
- employment relationship
- financialisation
- globalisation
- inequality
Access to Document
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This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via SAGE Publications at https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0143831X211063230 . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.