The South African unemployment debate: Three worlds, three discourses?

This paper argues for a redirection and integration of the research debate on unemployment. It presents a critical survey and meta-analysis of the South African academic literature on unemployment. It asks whether  the research has produced a coherent analytical picture. A summary of seminal contributions demonstrates that they can be clustered into different discourses signified by distinctive topics, approaches, vocabulary, models and data (inter alia).