Home page | Southern Africa Labour & Development Research Unit

Image: Central Durban. Credit: Magda Ehlers on Pexels.

Investigating the relationship between inequality and conflict

In this article, Chandré Jacobs reflects on how the July 2021 unrest and increasing community protests in South Africa influenced her PhD research on inequality and conflict.

A cohort of young men from Atlantis, on their ocean journey with MSC Cruises and Shosholoza Ocean Academy

From Atlantis to the World: Young people setting sail with MSC Cruises and Shosholoza Ocean Academy through BPS coaching

This short article highlights emerging evidence from the Basic Package of Support (BPS) which supports young people who are out of employment, education, or training to navigate pathways to sustainable livelihoods.

Linked administrative data unlocks new insights about education pathways in South Africa

Linked administrative data create new possibilities for analysing education systems. The value of such data lies in creating a system-wide, longitudinal view of education pathways.

Dr. Cynthia Lum Fonta (centre) pictured with her supervisors Professor David Gordon (left) and Dr. Zoi Toumpakari (right).

Tracing Inequality: A PhD Journey into Child Poverty, Education, and Development in Africa

In this article SALDRU–IIASA postdoc Cynthia Lum Fonta reflects on her path from working in clinics to being a PhD student looking at disparities in child poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

Challenging inequalities through policy-relevant academic research.

The 2026 Budget: Is this the turning point?

In this commentary on the Budget, SALDRU Associate Andrew Donaldson reflects on the extent to which the current moment truly reflects a turning point – in terms of debt and financial projections, growth, and the performance of government

Image: Participants of the training session on a social walk in Kirstenbosch.

Professor Wolfgang Lutz visits SALDRU for Human Capital for Sustainable Development in Africa training

As part of the Human Capital for Sustainable Development in Africa and Coastal Regions project, Professor Wolfgang Lutz spent three weeks at SALDRU engaging with the locally-based team.

Attendees in the venue where presentations were held at the December Workshop.

SALDRU and ERSA co-host the second edition of the annual December Workshop

The workshop aims to provide a South African venue where overseas-based and local researchers can present and engage with frontier Economics research under the theme of “Frontiers in Applied Economics for Developing Countries”.

Siyaphambili interactive website

An interactive website to track and monitor qualification attainment and related information in South Africa

OpenSALDRU

The SALDRU repository contains publications from research conducted within the research unit. Select a collection to browse its contents.

SALDRU launches interactive online platform The Community Explorer

Effective community-level development requires granular insights into well-being disparities. The Community Explorer is an interactive online platform designed to map, analyse, and visualise community-level well-being data in South Africa