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The formal private sector has a key role to play in fostering growth and reducing unemployment in South Africa-strengthening its performance is therefore critical. This paper looks at firm behaviour, firm entry and exit, job outcomes, and productivity dynamics using firm-level administrative data for South Africa. It is the first paper to benchmark employment and productivity dynamics against various comparator countries for which similar analysis has been undertaken. The paper finds that South Africa has an aged private sector with low firm dynamism and characterized by large firms that hold a large share of employment and revenue, although they are not as productive as micro firms and pay lower wages on average. The paper also finds that job creation is concentrated predominantly in incumbent firms, which are old and large, and job creation from entry and exit is negligible. The static and dynamic productivity decompositions raise a concern that although productive efficiency is gained, it is at least in part at the expense of labor. Large firms are not exploiting economies of scale, and particularly unproductive large firms may drive the weak performance of the private sector. Relatively high wages in South Africa could be partly explained by the inefficient use of labor and negative correlation between productivity and size. Likewise, these larger firms could be responsible for the negative direct impact on jobs of firms raising productivity.

Efficiency of Allocation --- Firm Dynamics --- Job Creation --- Private Sector Development --- Productivity --- Social Protections and Labor --- Wages, Compensation and Benefits

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The degree of concentration and market power in South African markets has been the topic of much policy discussion. However, there has been little evidence on what drives market power and the impact of the degree of competition in South African markets on economic outcomes. This paper improves on previous markup estimates for South Africa using a methodology developed by De Loecker and Warzynski (2012) applied to tax administrative data for 2010-14. The paper then explores the firm-level determinants of the estimated markups and assesses the link between competition and firm-level outcomes, including productivity, employment, and wages. The analysis finds that average markups across the economy appear to have risen between 2010 and 2014. Larger firms, higher-intensity exporters, and firms with greater sales shares charge higher markups than comparator firms in South Africa, even after controlling for efficiency. Moreover, lower product market competition has a significant, negative effect on productivity growth, employment growth, and wage growth in South African manufacturing industries. Higher sales-weighted and value-added-weighted average industry-level markups are associated with lower industry-level entry rates. The findings highlight the importance of implementing sound pro-competition government interventions and the significant economic benefits associated with such policies.

Competition Policy --- Job Creation --- Labor Markets --- Market Competition --- Private Sector Development --- Private Sector Economics --- Productivity --- Social Protections and Labor --- Wage Growth --- Wages, Compensation and Benefits

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Rural economies are in transition around the world; in many countries, improved technology and linkages across sectors have expanded access to markets and accelerated production for some farmers. At the same time, rural areas globally are facing a growing base of landless and smallholder farmers, out-migration to urban areas, and persistence of low-skilled, informal, and seasonal jobs where women are often heavily concentrated. Recent global initiatives are examining programs that can effectively raise rural incomes, including how addressing shortfalls in wome's hours worked and earnings can raise rural productivity and growth. But well-designed policies to address these issues require improved counting of individuals' employment, accounting for the complexity of measuring rural women's labor force participation, as well as data on social, economic, and institutional constraints that women face in seeking better economic opportunities. Using recent rounds of the Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda Living Standards and Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture, as well as findings from recent country pilots conducted by the International Labour Organization, this paper discusses best practices and issues to consider when examining rural women's employment in socioeconomic surveys, as well as a survey research agenda to improve measurement.

Agriculture --- Employment --- Employment and Unemployment --- Food Security --- Gender --- Gender and Development --- Household Surveys --- Labor Underutilization --- Social Protections and Labor --- Unpaid Work --- Wages, Compensation and Benefits

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The latest push for industrialization in Ethiopia has attracted much academic and public interest. This paper assesses Ethiopia's competitiveness and attractiveness as an investment destination by comparing domestic productivity and input costs to a sample of manufacturing exporting countries. The paper documents that, in a comparison with Kenya, India or Vietnam, the labor cost advantage of Ethiopian firms is more than offset by low productivity. However, Ethiopia appears competitive when compared to Bangladesh. Capital, firm size, or sectoral composition do not explain the low productivity of the Ethiopian manufacturing sector. Ethiopian firms, however, have worse management, particularly in the area of labor management. The paper concludes by discussing the potential for labor interventions to increase productivity and create the condition for further industrialization.

Export Competitiveness --- General Manufacturing --- Industrialization --- Industry --- International Economics and Trade --- Labor Market --- Labor Markets --- Manufacturing --- Private Sector Development --- Private Sector Economics --- Productivity --- Skills Development and Labor Force Training --- Wages --- Wages, Compensation and Benefits

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Important progress toward gender equality has been made in the past decades, but inequalities linked to gender norms, stereotypes, and the unequal distribution of housework and childcare responsibilities persist. Lifetime events such as marriage and parenthood bring substantial changes in time use among women and men. This paper updates and reinforces the findings of previous studies by analyzing gender differences in the allocation of time among market work and unpaid domestic work. Results from the analysis of time use patterns in 19 countries of different income levels and from various regions suggest that women specialize in unpaid domestic and care work and men specialize in market work. The paper employs propensity score matching to assess the marriage and parenthood "penalty" on time use patterns over the lifecycle. The findings indicate that women of prime working age are the most penalized on a host of measures, including labor market participation, unpaid domestic work, and leisure time. Men are not necessarily penalized for, and sometimes benefit from, marriage or parenthood.

Domestic Work --- Female Labor Force Participation --- Gender --- Gender and Development --- Gender Inequality --- Gender Roles --- Inequality --- Labor Markets --- Poverty Reduction --- Rural Development --- Rural Labor Markets --- Time Allocation --- Wages, Compensation and Benefits