While President Ramaphosa courts global leaders for foreign direct investment, the headache of how to create jobs in South Africa’s struggling economy persists. There is clearly a need to be innovative and think outside the box. Here we ask: would loosening immigration control, making it easier for non-South Africans to enter and work, lead to job creation? The short answer: yes, evidence suggests it would.
There are widely held misconceptions around the impact of immigration on the economy. If you listen to politicians, and across the political spectrum from the ANC, DA, EFF and, most recently COPE and ABM, you’d be forgiven for thinking that ‘letting the foreigners in’ can only be a bad thing. They takejobs, right? Wrong. ….more