Two of the most serious challenges facing South Africa today are the availability of skills and unemployment. Inward FDI has been promoted by the IMF and the World Bank as a solution for sustained growth in developing countries. This growth impact can be achieved through a combination of FDI benefits which include access to foreign funds, adoption of superior technology, skills transfer and job creation. A number of researchers have investigated the impact of FDI and have come up with different conclusions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of inward FDI on skills development and job creation in South Africa. Telephonic interviews were conducted with 32 multinational companies based mainly in the Gauteng Province during August 2010. A qualitative approach was used in the methodology by comparing the data collected across the companies that participated in the survey. The study concluded that inward FDI has a positive impact on skills development and job creation in South Africa and therefore significantly impacts economic growth. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Thesis (M. Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2011. / The study deals with the exit strategy impact within EPWP, WFW programme in Tzaneen area, Limpopo province. WFW programme employs contractors and workers for a short period of time and exit them out of the programme after skills transfer and training. In order to investigate the impact of exit strategy within the WFW programme, the researcher made use of different research techniques. The empirical data was collected on the basis of: a survey of 55 respondents, follow up interview with all respondents, and observation of the candidates who are due for exit. The major research findings clarify the selection and recruitment of workers and contractors in the programme, their training and skills development during the employment process, and finally, the exit achievements for poverty alleviation and further employability. It was recommended that exit strategy should be planned properly from the first day of employment, looking at the educational level of contractors and workers. The period of two years in the programme could be extended. In addition to training activities, a version of ABET programme could be implemented for them to improve their educational level. Exit strategy should be sustainable in such a way that the contractors and workers are able to improve their livelihood even after leaving the programme.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / The study was intended to investigate the impact of EPWP in job creation in the Rambuda area in the Mutale municipality of the Vhembe District in the Limpopo Province. Qualitative methods, which involved focus groups interviews and in-depth individual interviews were used to find out the impact of EPWP in job creation. Rambuda area was selected because the project was implemented in that area. The results revealed that the Rambuda EPWP had created many jobs for a number of jobless people including, males, females and youths. The employees were paid on a task base where they were paid R30.00 per task. The implication of the results was that Rambuda EPWP has had a significant impact in terms of job creation in the area.

Thesis ( M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2016 / The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Youth Empowerment Subsidy Tax Incentive emanating from South Africa’s Employment Tax Incentive Act of 2013, dedicated towards reducing youth unemployment. The scheme targets youth in the ages of between 15 and 29. The research used Triangulation Research Design approach, and questionnaire, interview and observation were used for data collection. These were statistically and thematically analysed. The results showed that the scheme lacked advocacy, and the people were not well informed or involved in planning the subsidy scheme. The study highlighted that people were eager to take part as long as the procedures were clearly feasible and well communicated. YESI vacancies were not advertised stating the type of programme that might have been confused with learnerships.

The use of public-private partnerships is a growing trend in the United States.  However, these arrangements\' job creation abilities have not fully been studied.  The nature of these arrangements allows for a wide variety of organizational structures.  This thesis analyzes differing public-private partnership models for their job creation efficiency.  The characteristics present in these arrangements are discussed.  This thesis is a multiple-case study of three distinct public-private partnerships for higher education infrastructure.  The three cases presented are Clemson University\'s International Center for Automotive Research, the University of Washington\'s South Lake Union Medical Research Complex, and Louisiana State University\'s Digital Media Center.  The findings of this thesis are that public-private partnership models with substantial upfront non-public investment can create jobs more efficiently from the public sector\'s perspective.  The public-private partnership models that create jobs more efficiently have the characteristics of stability, capacity, and collaboration. / Master of Arts

M.A. (Economics) / Unemployment is a familiar affliction of our age, but its nature, causes and cures remain matters of dispute. As with many familiar things, closer examination leads to deepening mystery. Its pathology is complex, with social as well as economic ramifications" (Routh, 1986: 1). In the world of today which is characterised by globalization, the unemployment problem has become a worldwide problem. It is endemic in both developed and developing countries. But for developing countries, this problem brings more challenges(like increased poverty) and complications (like political and social instability). South Africa is certainly no exception. In South Africa, this problem is succinctly expressed by Barker (1992: 71): "Unemployment is probably the most severe problem South African society is experiencing and it is conceivably the root cause of many other problems, such as high crime rates, violence, abject poverty.... Prominent leaders in and outside government have also stated that no government will be able to govern South Africa ...if this problem is not addressed effectively". According to Hall (1997: 396), one of the overlooked aspects of the unemployment crisis in South Africa is the spatial distribution of unemployment within cities. Apartheid urban planning concentrated the black population in peripheral residential areas, where the majority of the unemployed population is found. In Gauteng, for example, unemployment rates (using the 1991 census) vary between zero percent in former white suburbs and above thirty percent mainly in the former black townships. In addition to the apartheid urban landscape the recent trend of suburbanisation of economic activity, the decline in central business districts and the continued lack of development in former black residential areas may intensify the problem of unemployment. The long-term effects of these processes are far reaching, that is, they may result in profound labour market segmentation which may, in turn, negatively impact on urban development strategies aimed at reintegrating South Africa's cities and addressing the problems of poverty, unemployment, urbanisation and housing. With the establishment of democracy in 1994, many South African unemployed people became hopeful that there was going to be employment for everyone. This was further reinforced by the adoption of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), and the promises made by the developed Western countries to assist South Africa in its development endeavours. In 1996, South Africa opted for a neo-liberal approach (which advocates for less government involvement in the economic activity) to economic development by adopting the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy - which is a supply-side policy. The GEAR strategy calls for a minimalist state, restructuring of the economy like the elimination of export subsidies and the reduction of import tariffs to improve the competitiveness of South African industries in the global arena. In fact, to the contrary, at this stage, GEAR has not helped to stop the increasing tide of unemployment and retrenchments as industries are concerned with cutting costs(of which, labour costs are often the highest) to meet global competition. The cliche "lean is mean" has become crucial in business decisions. The implication of this is that more people have been put out of work. The unemployment level in South Africa has reached endemic proportions. The problem is getting more complicated by the prospects of the closure of marginal gold mines due to the possibility of a weaker gold price and increasing costs.

M.Comm. / South Africa had a stormy political past with the result that as a nation it needs peace and job opportunities. One of the methods of increasing job opportunities is to make use of more labourers and less machinery. But, according to The Mail and Guardian (1996a:1), South Africans have an obsession with capital-intensive projects instead of labour intensive projects.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The researcher attempted to assess the effectiveness of Bank of Agriculture (BOA) microloan scheme on job creation among micro and small enterprises. This is in view of the unprecedented rise in the unemployment rate in Nigeria and the widely perceived belief that among other policies, harnessing the financial capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) may possibly dictate the pace of the country’s achievement of job creation. Despite a wide array of studies on MSME growth, only a handful of rigorous studies are available to provide evidence of the effect of finance on labour market outcomes in the sector, as well as on the use of more relevant assessment techniques on the performance of public policies and interventions related to MSME financing. Through the use of mixed methods including questionnaire administration, key informant interviews, focused group discussions and desk research, this research undertook a theory of change-based assessment of Bank of Agriculture microfinance scheme, to assess the extent to which the scheme is effective in contributing to the achievement of the MSME Policy’s fundamental objective of job creation. Descriptive statistics using frequency tables and graphs as well as OECD COTE (Coherence, Objectives, Targets and Evaluation) Framework for policy formulation were applied as methods of analysis. The findings show a fundamental flaw in relation to the lack of strategic alignment of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) operations with the MSME Policy. The Bank is seen to be operating in a silo as the strategic direction the MSME tilt does not seem to derive from the overall MSME Policy. BOA is also not seen to be positioned to engage the practice of performance measurement and reporting generally and in particular of the fundamental objective of job creation, as stipulated in the MSME Financing Policy of government. It was also revealed that a majority of enterprises that took BOA microloans loans were not able to create jobs as many of them were operating as “survivalists”. Although the BOA microloan scheme is potentially capable of supporting targeted growth-oriented microenterprises in specific trades to create jobs, given the attractive concessional terms, the Bank is not achieving this objective in its present state and form neither is it seen to be positioned to do so due to several supply and demand side factors. An ongoing reform process in the Bank during this research period may be able to address part of this concern if more strategic steps are taken to surmount the constraints. Furthermore, BOA does not have a functional performance measurement framework and monitoring and evaluation system that can be used as the basis for measuring goal attainment such as the goal of job creation, especially in relation to the outcomes of the provision of financial services to the MSME sector. For BOA to be successful and truly developmental in focus especially in relation to its contribution to the strategic objective of job creation, the study therefore recommended the key thrust of a new framework for addressing the current unemployment situation to include an effective alignment of macro, meso (sectoral) and micro policies. At the (micro) institutional level, it is recommended that BOA should: • improve its governance and management system as well as the integration of development impact considerations and measurement; • create innovative financing products for growth-oriented microenterprises especially through cluster financing and cluster-based development; • increase wholesale lending through the provision of on-lending products to performing microfinance institutions (MFIs); • engage the services of BDS organisations to source for credible clients and build clients’ entrepreneurial capacity including assisting them to access markets. In line with the need to integrate development impact considerations and measurement into its entire operations, the researcher designed a monitoring and evaluation framework that can enhance the tracking of the attainment of job creation policy goal in BOA microloan scheme. In this vein, the institution is to adopt formal “lessons learnt” mechanisms to integrate evaluation findings into future activities and “put development back into development banking” (Smallridge, 2017). At the meso level in the study context, horizontal cooperation is recommended where all relevant institutions are aligned and the impact of various policy measures on entrepreneurship and job creation are taken into account. Lastly, an employment – sensitive macro-economic framework must pursue: the relaxation of monetary and credit conditions that are supportive of employment creation in the economy; fiscal prudence in the context of exploiting fiscal space to accommodate investments with high employment potentials; use of legislative mechanisms for ensuring full and effective implementation of annual budgets, program and projects at all levels and development and effective use of computerised Labour Market Information System (LMIS) for Nigeria.

This study explores the worth of state sponsored Business Incubators to the South African economy in respect of job creation and enterprise development. Using The Innovation Hub Management Company (TIHMC)‟s Maxum Business Incubator as a case study, and employing mixed methods, this non experimental longitudinal research undertakes to interrogate the quality of service rendered by one of South Africa‟s premier enterprise development facilities and its contribution to employment generation since its formation in 2000. The study surveys Pre - Incubatees, Incubatees and Post - Incubatees and interviews key informants in the TIHMC management to unravel this relatively under-researched area. The results show that the TIHMC Maxum Business Incubator has nurtured up to 81 firms which in turn have provided a combined total of 821 jobs between 2000 and 2011 - constituting 0.10% of the 800,000 employment opportunities generated by the Gauteng Provincial Government within the same period. However, the results also indicate that a range of services, particularly business skills, planning, financial management and book-keeping training require vastly improved technical expertise to sustain the incubated firms‟ market potentials. Further, the TIHMC needs to develop accessible information management systems and evaluative tools to enable regular performance appraisals, beneficiary feed-back and tracking of success stories in order to improve its strategic visions. The study‟s ambitions were to inform the TIHMC management‟s future plans and to contribute more generally to informed national discourses, policy making and academic inquiry into the efficacy of the novel notion of Business Incubation and its value to developing world contexts.

In the first chapter of this dissertation, I estimate the cyclicality of real wages for job stayers, and hires from both employment and from unemployment, using an administrative matched employer-employee dataset from Germany. I find that the wages of new hires appear to be lessprocyclical than the wages of job stayers. I propose an explanation based on countercyclical selection on match quality: when aggregate productivity is low, worker-firm matches have to be unusually productive to warrant job creation. The presence of the match quality selection effect is supported by the relationship between the initial aggregate conditions and the subsequent risk of separation: jobs started when unemployment is high are at a decreased risk of ending with a separation to unemployment, which suggests that they are positively selected. Motivated by the findings of the first chapter, I build a Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides search and matching model with match-specific productivity and turnover costs. The model-generated wages and job durations have cyclical properties empirically established in the previous chapter: the wages of new hires are less procyclical than the wages of job stayers, and jobs started when productivity is high are at a higher risk of subsequent separation. I show that the relative cyclical properties of wages are generated by changes in average match-specific productivity for new hires relative to job stayers. Match-specific productivity is subjected to countercyclical selection: when aggregate productivity is low, match-specific productivity has to high to justify creating or maintaining a match. Due to turnover costs, countercyclical selection for new hires is stronger than for job stayers. Low match-specific productivity of matches started when aggregate productivity is high generates the positive relationship between initial aggregate productivity and subsequent risk of separation. In the third chapter, I examine the behavior of wages within employment spells, before separation from a job and after movement between jobs in order to evaluate hypotheses concerning job-to-job transitions. Using German administrative microdata, I establish three empirical findings. First, the properties of wage changes within employment spells and associated with job-to-job transitions are broadly similar. Second, wages deteriorate in the year preceding separation from a job, for all separations, including job-to-job transitions. The wage deterioration manifests as slower wage growth and lowering of real wages expected given workers' characteristics. Third, for job-to-job transitions wage growth after accession is faster if the initial wage is lower than the last wage in the previous job. This effect is not present for job-unemployment-job transitions. The second finding supports the notion that some job-to-job transitions are induced by the worsened job situation. The third suggests that, to some extent, workers might voluntarily make job-to-job transition that decreases their wages in expectation of higher wage growth in the future.