Under this theme, we aim to expand the base of empirical research on the intersection between education, the labour market, and other life outcomes such as fertility, family responsibilities, and intergenerational mobility.
Many young people enter the labour force with minimal skills due to low levels of school completion, limited access to post-school education and training and even lower qualification completion rates. This reality stands in strong contrast to the demand for high skilled employees, resulting in skills mismatch and exclusion from the labour market.
Previous studies have shown that post-school education has the potential to enable youth to find jobs and earn higher wages, alleviating poverty, and joblessness. Less is known about what responsibilities completing a post-school qualification might bring or the long run outcomes of not completing school or remaining out of employment education or training (NEET) for a long period of time.
Thus far, studies under this theme draw on household and panel survey data, such as the National Income Dynamics Study in South Africa and the Ghanaian Socioeconomic Panel Survey in Ghana.
This is a repository of work related to Siyaphambili themes and published by Siyaphambili team members.
Journal articles
Kerr, A., Piraino, P. & Ranchhod, V. (2017). Estimating the Size and Impact of Affirmative Action in Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Cape Town. South African Journal of Economics, 85: 515-532. doi:10.1111/saje.12174
Smith, L.C. & Ranchhod, V. (2012). Measuring the Impact of Educational Interventions on the Academic Performance of Academic Development Students in Second-Year Microeconomics, South African Journal of Economics, 80(3): 431-448.
Smith, L.C., Pym, J. & Ranchhod, V. (2012). What are the Variables That May Explain Commerce University Students’ First-Year Results?, South African Journal of Accounting Research, 26(1).
Andrews, R., DesJardins, S. & Ranchhod, V. (2010). The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise on College Choice, Economics of Education Review, 29(5): 722-737.
Andrews, R., Ranchhod, V. & Sathy, V. (2010). Estimating the Responsiveness of College Applications to the Likelihood of Acceptance and Financial Assistance: Evidence from Texas, Economics of Education Review, 29(1): 104-115.
Book chapters
Branson, N. & Lam, D. (2021) ‘Chapter 33: The Economics of Education in South Africa’ In The Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy. (Eds Arkebe Oqubay, Fiona Tregenna, & Imraan Valodia).
Branson, N. & Kahn, A. (2019) ‘The post matriculation enrolment decision: Do public TVET colleges provide students with a viable alternative?’ In Post-School Education and the Labour Market in South Africa. (Ed. Rogan, M.). HSRC Press: Cape Town. Pages 37-60.
Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2019) ‘Assessing the usability of the Western Cape Graduate Destination Survey for the analysis of labour market outcomes’ In Post-School Education and the Labour Market in South Africa. (Ed. Rogan, M.). HSRC Press: Cape Town. Pages 137-164.
Branson, N., Hofmeyr, C., Papier J. & Needham S. (2015) ‘Post-school education: Broadening alternative pathways from school to work’ In De Lannoy A et al. (Eds) South African Child Gauge 2015. Cape Town: Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town.
Working papers
Branson, N., Ranchhod, V. & Whitelaw, E. (2023) – South African student retention during 2020: Evidence from system wide institutional data
Branson, N. & Whitelaw, E. (2023) – What can we understand about learning losses in 2020 from university application and enrolment data?
Whitelaw, E., Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2023) – Learning in lockdown: University students’ academic performance during COVID-19 closures
Branson, N., Hjellbrekke, J., Leibbrandt, M., Ranchhod, V., Savage, M. & Whitelaw, E. (2023) – The socio-economic dimensions of racial inequality in South Africa: A social space perspective
Whitelaw, E., Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2022) – Social stratification and post-school funding thresholds: A dynamic approach to profiling the missing middle
Branson, N., Hendry, J. & Ranchhod, V. (2020) – The effects of credit rationing on re-enrollment rates at a University in South Africa
Branson, N., Culligan, S., & Favish, J. (2020) – Information Flows in the South African Post-school Education and Training sector: a focus on university and government stakeholders
Mosomi, J., Thornton, A., & Branson, N. (2020) – Unpacking the potential implications of Covid-19 for gender inequality in the SA labour market
Whitelaw, E., & Branson, N. (2020) – Private transfers and graduate responsibilities: Evidence from the National Income Dynamics Study
Kahn, A., Branson, N., & Leibbrandt, M. (2019) – Returns to English skills in the South African labour market
Branson, N., De Lannoy, A. & Kahn, A. (2019) – Exploring the transitions and well-being of young people who leave school before completing secondary education in South Africa
Lam, D., Ardington, C., Branson, N., & Leibbrandt, M. (2013) – Credit constraints and the racial gap in post-secondary education in South Africa.
Reports
Branson, N., Culligan, S., & Ingle, K. (2020) – Developing Siyaphambili: A Stronger South African Nation Website. Moving towards a unified goal to combat inequality and unemployment.
Branson, N., De Lannoy, A., & Brynde, K. (2019) – Review of Youth Labour Market Research.
Branson, N., Culligan, S., & Tonini, S. (2019) – What & where you study matters in the labour market: Unpacking how employment and wages vary by qualification and institution type
Branson, N. (2018) – An analysis of out of school youth who have not completed matric: what can available data tell us?
Briefs and Other Writing
Whitelaw, E., & Branson, N. (2020) – Black tax – Do graduates face higher remittance responsibilities?
Whitelaw, E., Culligan, S. & Branson, N. (2020) – Student ability to learn at home: an introductory look at student access to remote learning resources
Branson, N., Culligan, S., & Ingle, K. (2020) – Post-school Education and Training in South Africa: Pathways, qualifications, and organisations making up the system.
Branson, N., Culligan, S., & Ingle, K. (2020) – The Siyaphambili Website: An interactive platform to track South Africa’s post-school qualification attainment.
School of Economics, University of Cape Town (2017). F(r)ee Higher Education: A School of Economics engagement.
Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (2017) – Understanding the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2013) – Educational attainment and labour market outcomes in South Africa, 1994-2010. OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1022, OECD Publishing.
Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2013) – Education quality and labour market outcomes in South Africa. OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1021, OECD Publishing.
Hofmeyr, C., Branson, N., Leibbrandt, M., Ardington, C., & Lam, D. (2013) – The matric certificate is still valuable in the labour market. Econ3x3 Brief.
Newspaper articles
Whitelaw, E. & Branson, N. (2023) – Catalyse social mobility through the success of students. University World News.
Whitelaw, E., Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2022) – Social stratification and post-school funding thresholds: A dynamic approach to profiling the missing middle. Econ3x3.
Whitelaw, E., Culligan, S., & Branson, N. (2020) – Students will return on an unequal footing because of poor remote-learning access. Daily Maverick.
Branson, N. (2018) – Lots of young South Africans aren’t going to technical colleges. What can be done. The Conversation.
Lam, D., Ardington, C., Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2014) – More financial aid is not the best way to close the racial gap in tertiary education. Econ3x3.
In the news
Assessing the state of post-school education in an unequal society
Siyaphambili research highlighted in the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Research Bulletin on Post- School Education and Training (pages 45-48).
Inequality in higher education mushroomed by COVID-19
Siyaphambili: A Stronger South African Nation Website
Lots of young South Africans aren’t going to technical colleges. What can be done
Tracking high-value credentials as a unifying Post-Secondary Education and Training goal
Measuring high value post-school credentials in South Africa
Other media
Leibbrandt, M., Branson, N. & Whitelaw, E. (2023) – Catalysing social mobility through student success. YouTube.
Siyaphambili October webinar series, 2020
Branson, N. (2020) – Structural inequalities in remote learning at TVET colleges and universities. POWER Talk.
Branson, N. (2018) – Trends in post-secondary education enrolment in South Africa. YouTube.
EXPANSION: BUILDING EVIDENCE FROM EXISTING GHANAIAN SURVEY DATA SOURCES
Recognising the need for policies that address poverty and inequality, and build social cohesion, the Ghanaian government rolled out free compulsory primary education in 1996 and free senior high school provision in 2017. With the first cohorts exposed to the free education policies now reaching prime adulthood, our project aims to take stock of how educational attainment has changed over time, and to examine the gendered consequences of these education changes for labour market dynamics and intergenerational socioeconomic mobility.
Evidence from this project will be relevant to policy making during a time of fiscal pressures, especially given that Ghana has one of the highest state investments in education in Africa (see Adu-Ababio & Osei, 2018).
Our overarching research question is therefore ‘What are the education, labour market, and intergenerational socioeconomic consequences associated with the expansion of education access in Ghana, and how do they differ for men and women?’ Our work programme is designed around three core activities: a data, research, and training contribution.
Data contributions
1. Stacked and harmonised cross-sectional data
Drawing on SALDRU’s learnings from stacking Statistics South Africa survey data in the Post-Apartheid Labour Market Series, we will stack the Ghana Living Standards Surveys and Population and Housing Census data alongside the Jobs of the World Database for Ghana to create a high frequency database of information on education, jobs, gender, and labour market activities.
2. Panel data contribution
Individual panel data allows an investigation of the mobility of individual socioeconomic outcomes over time. Recognising this, Ghana established the of Ghanaian Socioeconomic Panel Survey (GSPS) in 2009. The current version of the GSPS data is, however, not readily configured for the types of analyses that use panel data. Specifically, there is little evidence on both household and individual level attrition, and publicly available panel weights currently do not exist. An important output of our project will be the creation of publicly available data and documentation, coding files, and the production of weights for the GSPS.
Research contributions
Our research contribution will draw on synthetic panel data and panel data analysis techniques to study the consequences of the Ghanaian fee elimination programs. We envision three substantive empirical contributions.
1. Trends in education and labour market dynamics
2. Consequence of education reforms, evidence from harmonised cross-sectional data
3. Consequences of education reform, evidence from four waves of panel data
Training contribution
We have identified a need and demand for training in longitudinal data management and analysis from researchers across the continent. A key output will be to offer training in this regard, with the content designed around the use of the GSPS data.
This project is funded by the Gender, Growth and Labour Markets in Low Income Countries Programme for the period October 2023 – September 2026. The research is a collaboration between SALDRU’s Siyaphambili Post-school Research Initiative and researchers from the South Africa and Ghana nodes of the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR). Siyaphambili’s Nicola Branson and Vimal Ranchhod are co-PIs alongside Robert Osei from the ACEIR Ghana node, University of Ghana.