Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Yu, Sherry

Area of Concentration

Economics

Abstract

This thesis examines the effects several variables have on the employment of women, youth, and people with disabilities by the South African Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). I hypothesize that the wage rate and person training years will have the greatest and most significant impact on the employment of these groups, though other factors will impact the employment of these groups in the EPWP. Three models are constructed to estimate the coefficients of the of these variables, with three OLS regressions run for each model to test the robustness of the results. The results imply that women are positively incentivized to work in the EPWP by increases in work available and work opportunities. Results for the youth population imply this group is more likely to work in the EPWP with greater numbers of projects and more work hours available. The results for people with disabilities imply that the unemployment rate is the only variable to positively impact the work decisions. I end with suggestions for improving this line of inquiry and modern framing of the EPWP in the South African political landscape.

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