Minimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinants

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorBhorat, Haroonen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMayet, Natashaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-31T12:24:40Z
dc.date.available2014-07-31T12:24:40Z
dc.date.issued2010en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe lack of compliance amongst employers with minimum wage legislation is a problem faced by many developing countries. South Africa is no exception, informal evidence suggesting that a large proportion of the employed in the country earn wages below the stipulated minima. This dissertation attempts to measure non-compliance or, in other words, 'violation' of employers in South Africa of minimum wage legislation, and to investigate the determinants of this violation. This study constitutes the first attempt to measure enforcement and compliance in South Africa. In order to measure the strength of government enforcement of minimum wages in South Africa, the number of labour inspectors is used as a proxy measure, while employer noncompliance, or violation, is measured using an approach developed by Kanbur (2007), referred to here as the 'Kanbur Index of Violation'. Derived from the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (1984) poverty measures, this index is used to measure the share of violated workers receiving sub-minimum wages, as well as the depth of violation, namely, the average gap between the stipulated minima and the actual wage paid. This is the first attempt in the literature on minimum wage enforcement to use the methodology proposed by Kanbur (2007) for the measurement of violation. The estimates obtained for South Africa show that the sectors where violation is most prevalent include the Security, Taxi and Farming sectors. A multivariate analysis is employed, using standard OLS, probit, and quantile regression techniques to investigate the determinants of the probability of a worker being violated by their non-compliant employer, as well as of the depth and extent of the violation, that is, the shortfall of their wage from the minimum. Another innovation of this paper, in addition to the use of the Kanbur index as a measure of violation, is the introduction of a number of spatial/density variables, such as the log of workers per square kilometre, the density of labour inspectors in a District Council, and the unemployment density in the area. The construction of these variables was made possible by mapping the statutory minima, which are location specific, to the geographic units in the Labour Force Survey data for South Africa. The principal findings of this analysis are that violation is an outcome of a range of 8 variables, including individual, firm-level/contractual, sectoral, as well as spatial/density characteristics. A key marker of the probability of minimum wage violation and the depth of violation is the density of labour inspectors in the District Council where the worker is employed. Firm-specific characteristics such as firm size also play a leading role. The results from this dissertation carry important policy implications for minimum wage legislators in South Africa, especially regarding interventions around the enforcement of sectoral minima.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMayet, N. (2010). <i>Minimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinants</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,School of Economics. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5742en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMayet, Natasha. <i>"Minimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinants."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,School of Economics, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5742en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMayet, N. 2010. Minimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinants. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Mayet, Natasha AB - The lack of compliance amongst employers with minimum wage legislation is a problem faced by many developing countries. South Africa is no exception, informal evidence suggesting that a large proportion of the employed in the country earn wages below the stipulated minima. This dissertation attempts to measure non-compliance or, in other words, 'violation' of employers in South Africa of minimum wage legislation, and to investigate the determinants of this violation. This study constitutes the first attempt to measure enforcement and compliance in South Africa. In order to measure the strength of government enforcement of minimum wages in South Africa, the number of labour inspectors is used as a proxy measure, while employer noncompliance, or violation, is measured using an approach developed by Kanbur (2007), referred to here as the 'Kanbur Index of Violation'. Derived from the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (1984) poverty measures, this index is used to measure the share of violated workers receiving sub-minimum wages, as well as the depth of violation, namely, the average gap between the stipulated minima and the actual wage paid. This is the first attempt in the literature on minimum wage enforcement to use the methodology proposed by Kanbur (2007) for the measurement of violation. The estimates obtained for South Africa show that the sectors where violation is most prevalent include the Security, Taxi and Farming sectors. A multivariate analysis is employed, using standard OLS, probit, and quantile regression techniques to investigate the determinants of the probability of a worker being violated by their non-compliant employer, as well as of the depth and extent of the violation, that is, the shortfall of their wage from the minimum. Another innovation of this paper, in addition to the use of the Kanbur index as a measure of violation, is the introduction of a number of spatial/density variables, such as the log of workers per square kilometre, the density of labour inspectors in a District Council, and the unemployment density in the area. The construction of these variables was made possible by mapping the statutory minima, which are location specific, to the geographic units in the Labour Force Survey data for South Africa. The principal findings of this analysis are that violation is an outcome of a range of 8 variables, including individual, firm-level/contractual, sectoral, as well as spatial/density characteristics. A key marker of the probability of minimum wage violation and the depth of violation is the density of labour inspectors in the District Council where the worker is employed. Firm-specific characteristics such as firm size also play a leading role. The results from this dissertation carry important policy implications for minimum wage legislators in South Africa, especially regarding interventions around the enforcement of sectoral minima. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Minimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinants TI - Minimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinants UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5742 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/5742
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMayet N. Minimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinants. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,School of Economics, 2010 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5742en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentSchool of Economicsen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherApplied Economicsen_ZA
dc.titleMinimum Wage Enforcement in South Africa Measurement and Determinantsen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMComen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
thesis_com_2010_mayet_nathasa.pdf
Size:
906.58 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Masters