Labour market policies

Is informality being disallowed by government?

Andrew Charman, Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation on 11 November 2012
Reads 19,198

The South African government continues to pursue efforts to 'migrate' informal enterprises to the formal sector. This article examines the impact of regulations and law enforcement on the 'lived' economy of informal micro-entrepreneurs. Spatial analysis shows how the scope and distribution of informal economic activities are directly affected by regulation, land use planning and other controls. Such controls that effectively disallow informality are poor-unfriendly and harm livelihoods, self-employment and employment.

The Jobs Fund and a youth wage subsidy: Design and implementation issues

Eddie Rakabe, Financial and Fiscal Commission on 11 November 2012
Reads 15,152

As part of perpetual policy experimentation and search for that elusive ‘silver bullet’ to deal with unemployment, the South African government recently introduced the Jobs Fund and continues to mull over the idea of youth wage subsidies – vehemently opposed by trade unions. The success of these programs is highly dependent on effective design and administration. This article evaluates program design features against a number of factors.