A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation. Johannesburg, 2017 / South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, with youth unemployment sitting at 37.5 percent in 2016. In an attempt to remedy South Africa’s unemployment, the government sought entrepreneurship as a solution. The South African government has implemented various policies and established numerous institutional bodies to accelerate entrepreneurship. Some of these policies and bodies are aimed specifically at enhancing entrepreneurship among the youth. In order to understand the best approach to assist these young entrepreneurs, it is important to understand what drives performance in current young entrepreneurs’ enterprises. This paper evaluated the impact that entrepreneurial capital (human, social, and financial capital) had on the performance of youth-owned enterprises. It surveyed 199 young entrepreneurs (between 18 and 35 years old) to understand what drives performance within their enterprises. The research found that there were high levels of performance within youth-owned enterprises, when there were high levels of human capital and social capital. However, there was a negative relationship between financial capital and the performance of youth-owned enterprises. Overall, the research concluded that high levels of entrepreneurial capital had a positive relationship with the performance of youth-owned enterprises. The objective of this study was to understand what drives the performance of youth-owned enterprises, in order to best facilitate government assistance and support for young entrepreneurs. The outcome suggests that human capital and social capital drive performance of youth-owned enterprises, it would thus be advisable for the South African government to focus on those two variables when drafting policies and forming institutional bodies to enhance youth entrepreneurship. / MT2017

Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic & Business Sciences, 2016. / No abstract.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Development / The purpose of the study was aimed at understanding whether the economic hub of South Africa is able to create the jobs it wants to, specifically with reference to “Green” jobs. It will seek to understand if there are barriers to the realisation of this objective and if these barriers can be overcome. Explore whether the Metropolitan City Council of Johannesburg (CoJ or Johannesburg Municipality), which has embarked on a Green Economy trajectory, can create jobs though the Green Economy. The CoJ promised, through it long-term strategy, the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) 2040, to play its part in reducing unemployment in the Country. The main finding is that the City is able to create jobs, both within and beyond its borders, but it cannot as yet quantify the number of jobs created or the potential number of jobs that can be created though the Green Economy. / GR2018

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2016. / The study articulates the key indicators that are drivers of poverty and inequality in the post-apartheid society. Historically, education, employment, household income and service delivery were not used as the foundation for measuring poverty and inequality in the country. Specific objectives for this study are to interrogate the key determinants that have influenced poverty and inequality in South Africa since 1994, and to investigate how the predictors of life circumstances and service delivery changed across the population over the period 1994–2007. Descriptive analysis was used on household surveys (General Household Survey (GHS) 2002–2011, Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) 2008–2011 and Living Conditions Survey (LCS) 2008 and 2011) to determine changes and trends in the living conditions of the population. Multivariate analytical approaches were applied on CS 2007 data with a sample of 360 000 households conducted by Statistics South Africa. Statistical regression models were developed for life circumstances and service delivery measures to explain poverty and inequality. Principal component analysis was applied on CS 2007 to promote multidimensional approaches for poverty and inequality measurement using development indicators as the components for life circumstances and service delivery. The main findings of the study show that low levels of education and high unemployment are the determinants of poverty and inequality. Positive linear relationships between educational attainment and age, employment and population group, age, sex and educational level of household head were established. Income disparities further perpetuate disparities in life circumstances and service delivery. Disparities service delivery are not the determinants but the consequences of poverty and inequality. Poverty and inequality in South Africa are structural showing that, while many people progressed in the last twenty-two years, many remained behind, and even progressed negatively as they remained worse off based on data since the 1996 census. While much work has been conducted on life circumstances such as education, employment and income, work on service delivery in relation to poverty is still limited and thus deserves more attention / GR2018

A Research report submitted to the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of Demography and Population Studies for the year 2016 / INTRODUCTION: Youth labour force participation (YLFP) measures the level of economic activity among the youth. It is measured as the sum of all young people who are employed, unemployed or looking for work, as a percentage of the youth population. The weakening of the global recovery in 2012 and 2013 further aggravated the youth jobs crisis and the queues for available jobs have become longer for young jobseekers (ILO, 2013). This study examines the association between the level of education and labour force participation among the youth in South Africa. It also seeks to examine other socio-demographic factors influencing YLFP in the country. METHOD: Analysis of the data from a sample of 30144 youth aged 15-35 years who participated in the South African 2014 Quarterly Labour Force Survey was done using logistic regression models. In the multiple logistic regression, two models were used. Model 1 included the following variables: education level, age and gender whilst in model 2 this study controlled for: population group, type of residence and province because these socio-demographic factors influence youth labour force participation. RESULTS: When controlled for potential confounding effects of age, gender, type of residence, population group and province, youth with higher education were more likely to participate in labour force as compared to youth who have no or have primary education [(Q1: OR1 4.28, 95% CI2 3.74 to 4.90); (Q2: OR 4.34, 95% CI 3.78 to 4.97); (Q3: OR 3.91, 95% CI 3.41 to 4.48) & (Q4: OR 3.88, 95% CI 3.38 to 4.45)]. The association between education level and youth labour force participation was found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Young people with tertiary qualifications in South Africa are more likely to participate in the labour force. The evidence from the study shows there is a higher risk of mismatch for youth at the bottom of the educational pyramid, which is reflected in relatively high unemployment rates for the low skilled in comparison with the high skilled / GR2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Policy (MMPP), September 2016 / The high rate of unemployment and poverty in South Africa remains a daunting challenge, which continues to impact on the lives of millions of people who have limited education and lack skills, particularly those in the marginalised and rural communities who have no access to income generation. Gauteng Province due to in-migration is no exception to these challenges. In an effort to address these challenges the government has adopted the EPWP programme, which is a nationwide government-led initiative, with the aim of reducing unemployment by ensuring that the unskilled gain skills so that they are able to gain access to labour market and consequently earn an income (EPWP Five-year report, 2004/5-2008/9). The five-year report states that the programme set the target of achieving approximately one (1) million temporary work opportunities, for people, of whom 40% will be women, 30% youth and 2% will constitute of people with disabilities. This programme hoped to mitigate some of the social exclusion that the society is faced with and contribute to poverty alleviation, through the creation of short-and medium-term jobs for the unskilled and unemployed. Phase 1 EPWP programme has not yielded the significant results it was intended to, particularly the reduction of unemployment, which has remained high. It should be noted that this programme created a great many expectations, in so far as it relates to maximising the spread and skilling of all intended beneficiaries, needed to gain access into the mainstream economy. The five-year report (2004/5-2008/9) identifies four sectors which are critical or have potential for creating employment opportunities within the context of the EPWP. These are described as follows: ii  The infrastructure sector, which focuses on increasing labour intensity for government-funded infrastructure projects;  Environment, which relates to public environmental improvement programmes  The social sector, which relates to public social programmes such as community-based care programmes; and  The non-state sector, which provides and creates work opportunities through collaboration with non-state organisations, as well as strengthening community participation through small enterprise learnership and incubation programmes / GR2018

Thesis (M.Com. (Management))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016. / Graduate unemployment has become a significant factor in the global economy. The economic system now relies on institutional unemployment figures as the indices of the socio-economic well-being of any country. Research shows that graduate unemployment is potentially damaging to the economy. If such unemployment persists, it may lead to the erosion and outdating of graduates' skills–bases, which will affect the economy in the long term. Statistical reports show that there is high graduate unemployment in South Africa; hence graduates struggle to find work despite the skills shortage in the country. This seems to contradict previous studies suggesting that the higher a person‘s education level, the higher his or her probability of finding employment. As a result of the significant rise in unemployment rates among South Africa‘s stock of graduates, the extent of the emerging skills-mismatch possessed by new graduate labour market entrants are increasingly misaligned with the skills demanded by employers.

Thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / 22 years into the democracy, South Africa is still struggling with unemployment. Issues such as poor education outcomes, high disease burden, uneven public service performance, corruption and others have been listed amongst issues the country is facing however; poverty and inequality have been identified as the two main challenges facing the country (The National planning commission, 2012). This research attempted to understand unemployment and how the EPWP addresses the unemployment issues at a local level. The EPWP intends to provide temporary employment and provide training to its beneficiaries through skills programmes, learnership and artisan development. The skills and training provided intend to enhance the beneficiaries’ chances of being employable on other projects after exiting the EPWP (EPWP, 2016) Between 1994 and 2014 white labour force has increased with 9 percent, Indian/Asian labour force increased with 45 percent, 5 percent increase of coloured work force and a 95 percent hike of black African labour force (Stats SA, 2014). According to the National planning commission (2012) South Africa has made a remarkable transition from apartheid into democracy. The high growth experienced by the black African ethnic group has been attributed to the number of interventions implemented by the government to eradicate inequality such as Affirmative Action Act (AA). From the stats provided, one is able to deduce that the government has been able to make progress in terms of decreasing inequality and therefore needs to develop employment creation strategies to address unemployment. The literature review conducted in this study indicates a link between unemployment, economic growth, apartheid and skills development. Apartheid has not been pursued as an attribute as strategies to overcome it have become pre-eminent. This research utilised the qualitative strategy and cross-sectional research design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with interview schedule as a guiding tool for basic questions, the researcher asked further questions when required to do so. / XL2018

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.