Original Research

The role of mining in the South African economy

Jobannes Fedderke, Farah Pirouz
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences | Vol 5, No 1 | a2663 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v5i1.2663 | © 2018 Jobannes Fedderke, Farah Pirouz | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 09 July 2018 | Published: 31 March 2002

About the author(s)

Jobannes Fedderke, Econometric Research Southern Africa; and School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Farah Pirouz, Econometric Research Southern Africa; and School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

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Abstract

This paper examines the contribution of three aggregate mining sectors of the South African economy to output and employment over the 1970-97 period. The finding of a declining importance of mining in output and employment creation must be sectorally differentiated. Gold and Uranium Mining is the chief source of these declines, while evidence for Coal and Diamond and Other Mining is more modulated. We find strong redistribution of output from equity to labour over the course of the 1990s for Gold and Uranium Mining. In mining labour markets, we present developments in employment trends, in real labour cost, and in labour productivity. We examine links between these dimensions in an explanation of changing employment trends. We conclude with a VECM estimation of a labour requirements equation to corroborate our findings

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Crossref Citations

1. The Cost of Rigidity: The Case of the South African Labor Market
Johannes Fedderke
Comparative Economic Studies  vol: 54  issue: 4  first page: 809  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1057/ces.2012.25