ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT is essentially a process of structural transformation and labour migration is an integral part of such transformation. Labour migration is a widespread phenomenon found in all parts of the world in varying degrees. In most areas, however, it is a reasonably stable process. Individuals migrate with their families from one area to another where they settle, and the wage earner seeks a new occupation. Such migrations normally lead to a lengthy stay in the host area and in many instances to the permanent resettlement of the in-migrants. In some countries, however, a different labour migration phenomenon exists. Migration streams, both internal and international, are composed of two different classes of individuals; those seeking permanent residence in the area which they are entering and those who merely seek work for a limited period of time. When this period has expired the latter migrants return to their homes in the country or region from whence they came. As far as the individual migrant is concerned permanent and temporary migration decisions are similar in many respects. Such decisions normally arise from the same motives and are often differentiated only by quantitative differences in the strengths of the motives underlying the decisions.*(2) However, as far as macroeconomic aspects are concerned, the social and economic effects of temporary and permanent migration on both the supplying and the receiving areas are likely to be substantially different, since permanent migration implies: (a) The transfer of economically inactive persons as well as the economically active work seeker, and (b) That the transfer of capital, both physical and human will be substantially greater in the case of permanent rather than temporary migrants. This study is concerned with the economic effects that the system of temporary migration amongst the Bantu language speaking 1976 SAJE v44 (1) p66 people has had on the general development of the South African economy. The initial years of conflict between the European Settler population and the African tribes culminated in the resettlement of a major portion of the tribesmen on areas of land too small to enable them to support increasing numbers of people with their traditional agricultural methods. The adverse land/man ratio in the Reserves, coupled with the poor quality of a good deal of the land and the ever increasing tax burden, drove increasing numbers of Africans to seek work in the South African developing mining and industrial areas; but whereas in most other countries labour migration implies a reduction of the numbers of people remaining on the land, this was not the case in South Africa. Here a system of oscillating migration developed*(3) where the migrant left his family, sought work in a distant region, worked for a period of time, returned to his family for as long as he felt was economically feasible and then once again migrated to seek work. The system of oscillating migration was actively encouraged by the early entrepreneurs, particularly those...
1) THIS PAPER is concerned with movements that have taken place in the gap between average White and average Black real wage rates in the modern sector*(2) of the South African economy over the period [1960][1961][1962][1963][1964][1965][1966][1967][1968][1969][1970][1971][1972][1973][1974][1975], and is particularly addressed to a discussion of the effects these movements will have upon the racial distribution of personal income and the patterns of economic development. Two separate trends can be distinguished over this period. In the ten years between 1960 and 1970 modern sector average Black and average White real wage rates grew at almost the same pace, namely 3,9 per cent and 3,7 per cent per annum respectively. The absolute gap between Black and White average real wage rates grew over this period from R2 092 (1970 prices) in 1960 to R2 769 in 1970. Over the following five year period, however, the rate of growth of Black average real wages accelerated sharply to 6,6 per cent per annum, whilst the corresponding rate of growth of White wages fell to 1 per cent. The absolute gap fell slightly, for the first time, between 1973 and 1975 from R2 815 to R2 724 (1970 prices).*(3) The increase in average relative Black wage rates was concomitant with some Black upward mobility in the job hierachy. Recent surveys show that the rate of growth of the number of Blacks employed in the categories professional 1977 SAJE v45 (4) p409 and technical, managerial and proprietorial, clerical and sales was higher than that of Whites over the period 1969 . However, in 1975 the White workforce still provided 60 per cent of all the professional and technical manpower; 95 per cent of the managerial and administrative manpower; 75 per cent of the clerical and 60 per cent of the sales workforce4(4).
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