Human capital constraints in South Africa: a firm level analysis

[摘要] This study examines human capital constraints in the South African economy, andthe austerity these constraints have on firms in the country. The first part of the studyidentifies the main human capital constraints facing South Africa, and explains howthese constraints influence an economy. An inadequately educated workforce alongwith restrictive labour regulations makes out the central components of theseconstraints. The second part explores all the relevant constraints individually, anddetermines the cause of their existence. The final part of this study consists of a firmlevel analysis that describes human capital constraints experienced by firms in SouthAfrica. Regression analysis examines the determinants of increased output perworker in manufacturing firms. These determinants also indicate the cause of growthin output per worker. Human capital aspects such as education, labour regulation,compensation and competition are all shown to have a considerable influence onoutput per worker. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the explanatory variablesachieved similar results. For this analysis, latent variables that incorporatededucation, training, region and Sector Education Training Authority (SETA) supportand effectiveness explained the highest percentage of the total variance. However,this study found no evidence to suggest that human capital development initiativeslike training programmes and SETA support have a positive relationship withincreased levels of productivity.

[发布机构] North-West University