Legacy of apartheid: misallocation of labour and firm productivity

Talent Nesongano, Carol Newman, John Rand and Marvin Suesse

No wp-2026-15, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: This paper investigates the extent to which the historical legacy of apartheid laws explains contemporary misallocation and firm productivity in South Africa. During the apartheid era (1948-1994), job reservations, closed-shop agreements, and minimum-wage policies were implemented to restrict occupational mobility for Black workers and to insulate White employees from competition.

Keywords: South Africa; Apartheid; Discrimination; Misallocation; Labour; Firm productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-eff and nep-his
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