The study explores remuneration patterns in South Africa between 2000 and 2017, with a focus on the relationship between public- and private-sector earnings. Although remuneration is likely to increase over time in both sectors, this does not necessarily mean these increases are related to each other.

The authors conducted an empirical investigation into remuneration patterns to answer two questions:

• Is there a causal relationship between aggregate remuneration in the public and private sectors?
• Is remuneration in the mining sector affecting remuneration in other sectors?