Economic Growth in South Africa

This paper provides an overview of South African economic growth and employs modern growth theory to structure the historical record. The recent literature on growth is large and investigates the impact of a great many variables on economic growth. Constraints of space and information confine this analysis to the following core issues: the relative contributions of employment, capital stock and technological change on growth; the determinants of investment and hence of the trajectory of capital accumulation; the contribution of the financial sector and foreign capital flows; the contribution of human capital; the impact of monetary and fiscal policy; growth consequences of governance and institutions; and the functioning of the labour market and its impact on growth.