A cohort-analysis of social mobility in post-apartheid South Africa: Transformation in educational and employment outcomes

As South Africa enters the fourth decade since the end of apartheid, progress in addressing historical inequalities and improving access to educational and employment opportunities appears to be mixed. This paper analyses a pooled cross-sectional dataset covering most of the post-apartheid period to examine aggregate trends in educational and employment outcomes. These outcomes are explored further through the construction of a set of pseudo-cohorts that experienced the post-apartheid period at different stages of the life cycle. The findings suggest that there is some evidence of progress, particularly in relation to education. However, improvements in labour market outcomes have been elusive over the period. Employment and unemployment rates were almost unchanged across four cohorts of South Africans that would have been expected to experience different labour market conditions. Such findings highlight the truly sclerotic nature of the South African labour market and its limitations in contributing to transformation and reducing inequality.