The evolution of occupational structures in South Africa 1875-1911 : an analysis of the effects of the resource curse and blessing

Abstract

ENGLISH SUMMARY : This dissertation investigates the evolution of the occupational structure of South Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to improve our understanding of the impact of the mineral revolution on the living standards of black South Africans during that period. To achieve this, we unpack the critical relationship between the production and occupational structure of South Africa and the degree of economic development. The robustness of the relationship is examined using the PST (primary, secondary, tertiary) system at a provincial and national level with census records from 1875 to 1951. The empirical evidence suggests that the mineral revolution that occurred during that period had a profound effect on the South Africa economy, in particular infrastructural development and urbanization. Moreover, as South Africa became more economically affluent, primary sector participation decreased resulting in a concomitant increase in secondary and tertiary sector activity, in particular for white males. Black males’ and females’ occupational structure, conversely, experienced an increase in primary sector participation relative to the other two sectors. The economic development of South Africa, however, is correlated with the emergence of the black middle class arising from the educational efforts of the Christian missionaries.

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