Under this theme, we aim to expand the base of empirical research on the intersection between education and the labour market.

Many young people face limited opportunities to pursue post-school pathways that lead to stable employment, financial security, and broader well-being in adulthood. Gaps in foundational and occupational skills are compounded by structural barriers such as unequal access to quality education, limited information about available options, and weak linkages between education systems and labour markets. As a result, many youth struggle to transition successfully from education to work or to find pathways that allow them to thrive in life.

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.

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. Our latest collaboration with UNU-WIDER and SA-TIED leverages linked administrative datasets.

Journal articles

Branson, N. & Whitelaw, E. (2025). Tracking Progress Towards Gender Equity in the South African Academic Economics Pipeline. South African Journal of Economics, 1–30.

Winfield, J. & Whitelaw, E. (2024). Blended, flipped and lit: Student perceptions and performance under blended learning with a flipped classroom and a lightboard. South African Journal of Higher Education, 38(6).

Branson, N., Hjellbrekke, J., Leibbrandt, M., Ranchhod, V., Savage, M. & Whitelaw, E. (2024). The socioeconomic dimensions of racial inequality in South Africa: A social space perspective. The British Journal of Sociology, 74(4): 613-635.

Branson, N. & Whitelaw, E. (2024). Consequences of secondary school closures for learning in South Africa: Evidence from university application and enrolment data. International Journal of Educational Development, 108: 103062.

Whitelaw, E. & Branson, N. (2024). What goes up must come down? The effect of ‘2020’ on university students' academic performance trajectories. South African Journal of Economics, 92(2): 135-160.

Branson, N. & Whitelaw, E. (2024). South African student retention during 2020: Evidence from system wide higher education institutional data. South African Journal of Economics, 92(1): 9-30.

Whitelaw, E., Branson, N. & Leibbrandt, M. (2023). A dynamic perspective on profiling financial-aid eligibility: The case of South Africa. Journal of Social Policy.

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.

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. pp. 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. pp. 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. & Whitelaw, E. (2025). Post-School Education and Training Policies – From 1994 to Now. Policy Paper No.34, Economic Research Southern Africa.

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.

Newspaper articles

MacGinty, H. & Whitelaw, E. (2025). Degrees of uncertainty: What is happening to graduate unemployment in South Africa? Econ3x3.

Branson, N. & Whitelaw, E. (2023). South Africa's higher education funding conundrum: Could the current funding system hamper social mobility and university performance?

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