Social dialogue

Focus areas

	Evidence-based employment scenarios		Employment monitoring
	Macro-economy, economic bias & employment		Employment-oriented industry studies
	The informal economy		Government employment creation programmes
	Labour markets and social policy		Migration
	Regional dynamics		Social dialogue
	Employment policy network		Food Security, Agriculture and Rural Development

South Africa faces a number of dilemmas in economic policy making. While the macro-economic environment is often referred to as stable and a “success”, it is a partial success only. From the perspective of macroeconomic balance, there are concerns that addressing widespread open unemployment could destabilise successes in lowering debt ratios, interest rates and inflation.

While these macroeconomic characteristics are indeed seen as stable and under control, SA has the highest rate of open unemployment in the world and very weak levels of human development for a middle income economy. These are major imbalances which, in a context of very poor institutional alignment, entrench inequality. There are also other considerations in relation to policy prioritisation and social delivery.

The South African government is pressured to deliver on many targets at once, and has attempted to do this under conditions of constrained institutional capability. This programme area will review the experience of economic ‘deal-making' over the past 10 years, stakeholder views on the matter and potential contents of an employment-growth accord.

Research outputs

• Michie, J (2003) The Institutional Underpinnings of the Unemployment-inflation Relationship: A Review Paper
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