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Labour markets during apartheid in South Africa

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  • MARTINE MARIOTTI

Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that international political pressure and domestic civil unrest in the mid-1970s and 1980s brought an end to apartheid in South Africa. I show that, prior to these events, labor market pressure in the late 1960s/early 1970s caused a dramatic unraveling of apartheid in the workplace. Increased educational attainment among whites reduced resistance to opening semi-skilled jobs to Africans. This institutional change reflected white economic preferences rather than a relaxation of attitudes toward apartheid. I show that whites benefited from the relaxation of job reservation rules and that this is the primary cause of black occupational advancement.
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Suggested Citation

  • Martine Mariotti, 2012. "Labour markets during apartheid in South Africa," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 65(3), pages 1100-1122, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:65:y:2012:i:3:p:1100-1122
    DOI: j.1468-0289.2011.00621.x
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Why apartheid ended
      by Johan Fourie in Johan Fourie's Blog on 2013-03-15 20:43:46

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. James P. Choy, 2024. "A theory of discriminatory institutions, with applications to apartheid and to the political economy of migration," Discussion Papers 2024-06, Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP).
    2. Fintel, Dieter von & Fourie, Johan, 2019. "The great divergence in South Africa: Population and wealth dynamics over two centuries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 759-773.
    3. Carlos Gradín, 2019. "Occupational segregation by race in South Africa after apartheid," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 553-576, May.
    4. Gareth Austin & Stephen Broadberry, 2014. "Introduction: The renaissance of African economic history," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 67(4), pages 893-906, November.
    5. Bokang Mpeta & Johan Fourie & Kris Inwood, 2017. "Black living standards in South Africa before democracy: New evidence from heights," Working Papers 10/2017, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    6. Oscar Rikhotso & Thabiso John Morodi & Daniel Masilu Masekameni, 2022. "Occupational Health and Safety Statistics as an Indicator of Worker Physical Health in South African Industry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-21, February.
    7. Phillip W. Magness & Art Carden & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2025. "Consumers’ sovereignty and W. H. Hutt’s critique of the color bar," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 202(3), pages 597-610, March.
    8. Alessandro Belmonte & Davide Ticchi & Michele Ubaldi, 2025. "Affirmative Actions, Economic Insecurity, and Ethnic Conflicts: Evidence from South Africa Post-Apartheid," Working Papers 496, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    9. Yerrabati, Sridevi, 2022. "Does vulnerable employment alleviate poverty in developing countries?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. Martine Mariotti & Juergen Meinecke, 2009. "Nonparametric Bounds on Returns to Education in South Africa: Overcoming Ability and Selection Bias," ANU Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics 2009-510, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics.
    11. Belmonte, Alessandro & Ticchi, Davide & Ubaldi, Michele, 2025. "Re-exhuming the old hatchet: The effects of affirmative action policies on political preferences in post-apartheid South Africa," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1626, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Carlos Gradín, 2019. "Occupational segregation by race in South Africa after apartheid," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 553-576, May.
    13. Bastos, Paulo & Bottan, Nicolas, 2023. "Resource rents, coercion, and local development: Evidence from post-apartheid South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    14. Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson, 2015. "The Rise and Decline of General Laws of Capitalism," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 3-28, Winter.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N37 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Africa; Oceania
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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