Expert Researcher
Ben obtained a Masters degree in Applied Economics from the University of Cape Town. He also holds a Masters degree in Economic and Social History from the University of Oxford. His research interests include: Labour Economics, Economic & Social History.
He has spent time working in India with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and joined the DPRU in October 2012 as a researcher.
He is also a tutor in Economic History.
Like most around the world, the South African government quickly implemented a relatively stringent national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although much research documenting the pandemic’s economic effects exists, these studies are lar …
This report provides a basic quantitative assessment of the recent introduction of a National Minimum Wage (NMW) in South Africa, with a specific focus on the short-term labour market impacts. We use labour force survey data to examine and measure the …
The Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) is a South African wage subsidy programme introduced in 2014 as a form of tax relief for firms hiring workers between the ages of 16 and 29, who earn less than R6 000 per month. Designed as a tool to combat high level …
In an attempt to minimise the negative economic impacts of Covid-19 on vulnerable households the South African government allocated R50 billion in additional social assistance spending. The cash transfer package included a temporary increase in existin …
South Africa’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have been relatively rapid and comprehensive by international standards. Around passing 100 confirmed cases, a National state of Disaster was declared, and the country was placed under a complete …
The rights of workers contained in labour law are multidimensional, yet analysts tend to concentrate on compliance one dimension at a time. How should we conceptualise and measure compliance with labour law in its totality? This paper draws on the mult …
In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)most countries have adopted minimum wage regulation. Although the sectors and fraction of workers covered are small, given the low rates of formality and urbanization in SSA, (i) as the number of covered workers grows, wage r …
“Drawing on evidence from developing country studies, this paper considers several key issues. We discuss the impact of minimum wages in the developing world based on a selection of recent studies and highlight non-compliance with minimum wage laws as …
“Assessments of the impact of minimum wages on labour market outcomes in Africa are relatively rare. In part this is because the data available do not permit adequate treatment of econometric issues that arise in such an assessment. This paper attempts …
