TY - JOUR
T1 - Economic and political determinants of the South African labour share, 1971–2019
AU - Gouzoulis, Giorgos
AU - Constantine, Collin
AU - Ajefu, Joseph
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Democratisation
KW - employment relationship
KW - financialisation
KW - globalisation
KW - inequality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121729704&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0143831x211063230
DO - 10.1177/0143831x211063230
M3 - Article
SN - 0143-831X
VL - 44
SP - 184
EP - 207
JO - Economic and Industrial Democracy
JF - Economic and Industrial Democracy
IS - 1
M1 - 0143831X2110632
ER -