Towards a transformative macroeconomic policy framework for employment generation in Africa

The document contends that Africa's historical 'jobless growth' is due to a dependence on primary commodities and a lack of structural transformation. It proposes a shift from 'stabilization' to 'transformation' by coordinating fiscal and monetary policies with sectoral and labour market interventions. Key recommendations include increasing public investment in the care economy and infrastructure, implementing expenditure-switching methods to reduce import reliance, adopting progressive taxation, and establishing national minimum wages to boost domestic demand and productivity.

• Economic growth in Africa has not created sufficient decent employment because of a heavy reliance on primary commodities and low value-added sectors, which cannot generate mass employment.
• The COVID-19 pandemic worsened employment conditions, particularly for youth and women, with the working poverty rate for employed Africans increasing from 31.8% in 2019 to 34% in 2020.
• Structural transformation—shifting production toward higher value-added and higher productivity activities—is essential to reduce commodity dependence and increase economic resilience.
• Commodity dependence negatively impacts employment because mining and energy sectors are capital-intensive, employing less than 2% of the total workforce in low- and lower-middle-income African countries.
• Current macroeconomic policies in Africa have focused too narrowly on 'stability' (price stability and low debt) rather than 'transformation', which is necessary to mobilize resources for employment.
• African economies face a balance of payments constraint where increasing domestic demand often leads to increased imports and current account deficits due to underdeveloped domestic supply capacity.
• Public investment in the 'care economy' (health, education, and social work) is recommended as it has high employment multipliers and promotes women's economic empowerment.
• Expenditure-switching policies, such as exchange rate management and import tariffs, are needed to shift demand from foreign to domestic goods and balance the current account.
• National minimum wage policies are proposed as a tool to rebalance income from profits to wages, stimulating domestic consumption and incentivizing productivity upgrades.
• Revenue mobilization should shift toward progressive taxation and better taxation of mineral rents to increase fiscal space for pro-employment investments.
• The development of backward and forward production linkages, such as domestic sourcing requirements for mining, is critical to prevent 'enclave' economies and spread growth to other sectors.
• Effective implementation requires participatory policymaking, including the representation of social partners (workers and employers) in macroeconomic and monetary policy committees.

APA

Strauss, I., Sibeko, B., & Isaacs, G. (2021). Towards a transformative macroeconomic policy framework for employment generation in Africa. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Towards-a-transformative-macroeconomic-policy-framework-for-employment-generation-in-Africa.pdf

Chicago

Strauss, Ilan, Busi Sibeko, and Gilad Isaacs. Towards a transformative macroeconomic policy framework for employment generation in Africa. Institute for Economic Justice, 2021. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Towards-a-transformative-macroeconomic-policy-framework-for-employment-generation-in-Africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Strauss |first1=Ilan |last2=Sibeko |first2=Busi |last3=Isaacs |first3=Gilad |title=Towards a transformative macroeconomic policy framework for employment generation in Africa |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=June 2021 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Towards-a-transformative-macroeconomic-policy-framework-for-employment-generation-in-Africa.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{strauss2021towards, author = {Strauss, Ilan and Sibeko, Busi and Isaacs, Gilad}, title = {{Towards a transformative macroeconomic policy framework for employment generation in Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Towards-a-transformative-macroeconomic-policy-framework-for-employment-generation-in-Africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }