Centre For Development and Enterprise
CDE is an independent policy research and advocacy organisation. It is one of South Africa's leading development think tanks, focusing on critical development issues and their relationship to economic growth and democratic consolidation. Through examining South African realities and international experience, CDE formulates practical policy proposals outlining ways in which South Africa can tackle major social and economic challenges. CDE has a special focus on the role of business and markets in development.
GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA: A much exaggerated problem
April 2013
The popular view that possession of a university degree no longer guarantees success in the job market is simply not true. Over the past fifteen years, the number of degreed graduates in the labour force has more than doubled even as the graduate unemployment rate has fallen.
Marikana and the Future of South Africa’s Labour Market
March 2013
The events at Marikana reflect the crisis in the South African labour market. In November 2012, CDE invited leaders from business, government and organised labour to discuss the implications of Marikana for the future of South Africa’s labour market.
JOB DESTRUCTION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CLOTHING INDUSTRY: How an alliance of organised labour, the state and some firms is undermining labour-intensive growth
January 2013
This report shows how, under the guise of promoting ‘decent work’, an alliance of insiders can undermine labour-intensive employment in the clothing industry, in the process, exporting South African jobs to lower-wage countries such as Lesotho and China.
COPING WITH UNEMPLOYMENT: Young people’s strategies and their policy implications
November 2012
Youth unemployment is a national crisis. How does it affect young people and how do they cope? This publication looks at the scale of the challenge, the difficulties young people face in finding work, the poor strategies many adopt, and the reasons why some young people may turn down employment that they feel is too badly paid or too insecure.
