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Cambridge Journal of Economics 27:377-400 (2003)
Copyright © 2003 Cambridge Political Economy Society

Article

Capstone or deadweight? Inefficiency, duplication and inequity in South Africa's tertiary education system, 1910–93

Johannes Fedderke*, Raphael de Kadt* and John Luiz*

*University of the Witwatersrand, University of Natal, Durban and University of the Witwatersrand, respectively.

Address for correspondence: Prof. J. Fedderke, School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa; email: fedderkej{at}sebs.wits.ac.za

Abstract

This paper presents time series on South African tertiary education. The data series presented cover inputs and outputs for the university, technical training and teacher training systems. Modern growth theory has emphasised the importance of human capital, though empirical studies have attempted to isolate human capital impacts through single aggregate measures that capture only a quantity of human capital dimension. While data analysis in the present study is exploratory in nature, we show that strong quality differentials exist both within and between different parts of the tertiary education system. The methodological implication for growth studies is that fully accounting for both the quantity and quality of human capital in aggregate human capital measures thus faces significant measurement difficulties. The data also establish that discrimination in the South African tertiary education was not simply a question of underresourcing of Black institutions. Quality of output was low, but attaining it was frequently very expensive.

Key Words: Human capital creation • Growth • Tertiary education • South Africa


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