Occupational segregation by race in South Africa after apartheid

Type Journal Article - Review of Development Economics
Title Occupational segregation by race in South Africa after apartheid
Author(s)
Volume 23
Issue 2
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2019
Page numbers 553-576
URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/rode.12551
Abstract
This paper investigates progress in reducing the high level of racial stratification of occupations after apartheid in South Africa. Empirical analysis, using census microdata and Labour Force Surveys, does not provide compelling evidence of sustained or significant desegregation. Occupations remain highly segmented by race, with blacks disproportionally holding low-paying jobs (compared with whites), although segregation and segmentation also affect in a different way the other population groups (Indians/Asians and Coloureds). Less than a third of the occupational segregation and about half of the segmentation of Africans (with respect to whites) are related to their characteristics, especially their lower educational achievement, a gap that has been reduced over time. Segregation and stratification, however, remain when blacks and whites with similar characteristics are compared.

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