Labour: Obstacles and Opportunities

Bryan Robinson ()
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Bryan Robinson: Nelson Mandela University

Chapter Chapter 7 in African Special Economic Zones, 2022, pp 175-223 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract One of the key attractions for Special Economic Zones in developing economies is usually their relatively lower wages. As China’s wage rates continue their upward trajectory, this is an important consideration for Chinese investors when choosing a Zone in which to invest. However, in many African countries there are often poor educational facilities resulting in the labour market being primarily low-skilled; or if there is access to higher education, skills mismatches sometimes occur. The result may be that investors in special economic zones have to pay a premium wage for critical skills for local labour or Chinese labour. This chapter considers the complex debates in this regard and provides some insights from Chinese investors on how this influences their decision to invest, and their decision to employ local or Chinese labour. A South African case study is also presented to explore these issues as well as consider Special Economic Zone policy, in addition to labour policy, legislation, trade union activity and labour volatility, and the consequence this has on attracting investors to the country.

Keywords: Special Economic Zones; Labour market; Labour volatility; Wage levels; Job creation; Skills transfer; Productivity; Chinese Model of Special Economic Zones; African Model of Special Economic Zones; Sustainable Development; Ethiopia; Zambia; Nigeria; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-16-8105-9_7

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-8105-9_7

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