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Martin Wittenberg

University of Cape Town, and DataFirst, South Africa

I'm thrilled to be part of IZA World of Labor. It provides cutting-edge research with policy relevance in an accessible way

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Professor in the School of Economics and Director of DataFirst, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Research interest

Labor economics; economics of the household; analysis of time-use data; economics of predatory behavior; measurement of poverty; microeconometrics; spatial economics and intergovernmental fiscal relations

Website

https://aceir.uct.ac.za/contacts/martin-wittenberg

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Consultant to the National Treasury, Republic of South Africa

Past positions

Visiting Professor in the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, Yale University; Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics and Business Science, University of the Witwatersrand

Qualifications

PhD

Selected publications

  • Earnings and Employment Microdata in South Africa. WIDER Working Paper No. 47, 2019 (with A. Kerr).

  • "Measuring inequality by asset indices: A general approach with application to South Africa." Review of Income and Wealth 63:4 (2017): 706–730 (with M. Leibbrandt).

  • "Aiming for a moving target: The dynamics of household electricity connections in a developing context." World Development 97 (2017): 14–26 (with T. Harris and M. Collinson).

  • "Wages and wage inequality in South Africa 1994–2011: Parts 1 and 2." South African Journal of Economics 85:2 (2017).

  • "Interpretation of regressions with multiple proxies." The Review of Economics and Statistics 88:3 (2006): 549–562.

article(s)

  • The labor market in South Africa, 2000–2017

    The legacy of apartheid and demand for skills have resulted in high, persistent inequality and high unemployment

    Jacqueline MosomiMartin Wittenberg, April 2020
    The South African economy was on a positive growth trajectory from 2003 to 2008 but, like other economies around the world, it was not spared from the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis. The economy has not recovered and employment in South Africa has not yet returned to its pre-crisis levels. Overall inequality has not declined, and median wages seem to have stagnated in the post-apartheid period. Labor force participation has been stable and although progress has been made, gender imbalances persist.
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