Sustainable Manufacturing

Manufacturing in South Africa has undergone major restructuring following the dismantling of the systems of regulation, protection and industry support of the apartheid regime. The outcomes were not as expected, as capital-intensive heavy industries have continued to perform well while most manufacturing has struggled to come to terms with globalisation. As an industrialising country, South Africa is at a critical juncture, with worsening mass unemployment raising major questions over the sustainability of its development trajectory. This volume assesses the policies, outcomes and implications of the developments at the national level and through a key focus on the East Rand now covered by Ekurhuleni Metro. The title includes analyses by leading economic historians, geographers and sociologists, along with economists, to trace the impacts on this region and place it in the wider context of the challenges facing South Africa including HIV/AIDS and black economic empowerment.