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The unintended consequences of education policies on South African participation and unemployment

Author

Listed:
  • Rulof Burger

    (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch)

  • Servaas van der Berg

    (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch)

  • Dieter von Fintel

    (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch)

Abstract

In the late 1990s the South African Department of Education implemented two policies that were meant to reduce the large number of over-age learners in the school system: schools were no longer allowed to accept students who were more than two years older than the correct grade-age and students could not be held back more than once in each of four schooling phases. Our analysis uses school administrative data and household survey data to show that these policies coincided with a decrease in school enrolment of at least 400,000 and possibly as many as 900,000 learners. This effect was most noticeable for over-aged learners who were inclined to remain in school due to their poor labour market prospects. These policies appear to have pushed many students into the labour market at earlier ages than was observed for previous generations, which explains much of the sudden increase in labour force participation and unemployment during this period. However, since these individuals would probably have entered the labour market sooner if not for their poor employment prospects, we argue that the resulting increase in unemployment signifies a more accurate reflection of disguised unemployment that already existed in the mid-1990s rather than a deterioration of labour market conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Rulof Burger & Servaas van der Berg & Dieter von Fintel, 2012. "The unintended consequences of education policies on South African participation and unemployment," Working Papers 11/2012, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers163
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Dieter von Fintel, 2016. "Wage flexibility in a high unemployment regime: spatial heterogeneity and the size of local labour markets," Working Papers 09/2016, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    2. Dieter von Fintel, 2017. "Institutional wage-setting, labour demand and labour supply: Causal estimates from a South African pseudo-panel," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Liz Neyens & Martin Wittenberg, 2016. "Changes in self-employment in the agricultural sector, South Africa: 1994-2012," SALDRU Working Papers 173, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    South Africa; education; unemployment; participation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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