This study examines human capital constraints in the South African economy, and
the austerity these constraints have on firms in the country. The first part of the study
identifies the main human capital constraints facing South Africa, and explains how
these constraints influence an economy. An inadequately educated workforce along
with restrictive labour regulations makes out the central components of these
constraints. The second part explores all the relevant constraints individually, and
determines the cause of their existence. The final part of this study consists of a firm
level analysis that describes human capital constraints experienced by firms in South
Africa. Regression analysis examines the determinants of increased output per
worker in manufacturing firms. These determinants also indicate the cause of growth
in output per worker. Human capital aspects such as education, labour regulation,
compensation and competition are all shown to have a considerable influence on
output per worker. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the explanatory variables
achieved similar results. For this analysis, latent variables that incorporated
education, training, region and Sector Education Training Authority (SETA) support
and effectiveness explained the highest percentage of the total variance. However,
this study found no evidence to suggest that human capital development initiatives
like training programmes and SETA support have a positive relationship with
increased levels of productivity. / Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/4452 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Labuschagne, Johannes Riaan |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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