921 research outputs found
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What happened to multidimensional poverty in South Africa between 1993 and 2010?
No full textGauging levels of welfare using data on income and expenditure while informative is limited, and can be enhanced by including non-money-metric measures. Using data from the detailed and nationally representative PSLSD (1993) and NIDS Wave 2 (2010) datasets, we are able to calculate a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) for each year. Having data from these two points in time allows us to assess trends in multidimensional poverty in South Africa over the post-apartheid period
Determinants of smoking initiation in South Africa
No full textThis paper investigates the individual and household variables that influence the decision to start smoking. The data was drawn from wave 1 of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) of 2008 and the analysis was performed using survival analysis. Based on the international literature and the constraints of the NIDS survey, the following potential determinants of smoking onset were investigated: age, gender, population group, price of cigarettes, geographic location (urban/rural), socio-economic status of parents, whether the respondent’s mother was alive when the respondent was aged 15 or not, literacy, parents’ smoking behaviour, respondent’s alcohol consumption and tobacco control legislation.
Smoking initiation in South Africa typically takes place in the late teenage years and early twenties. Smoking initiation amongst males is much higher than amongst females. For both males and females, the probability of starting smoking is highest amongst the Coloured population. African females have a very low uptake of smoking. Males are more responsive to price changes than females. Depending on the specification, a R1 increase in the price of cigarettes reduces the risk of smoking onset by between 1.1% and 2.8% for males. For females the impact of price on smoking initiation is insignificant. Males and females who have a parent who smokes are more likely to initiate smoking. Females whose mother died before the respondent was aged 15 are more likely to start smoking. The same effect was not found for males. Male and female respondents who currently drink alcohol one or more times a week were more likely to start smoking.
The policy impact of this study is that an increase in the price of cigarettes will decrease smoking initiation, especially amongst males.We would like to acknowledge the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, through the American Cancer Society, for funding this research
Wealth data quality in the National Income Dynamics Study wave 2
No full textThis paper examines the quality of data on household assets, liabilities and net worth in the South African National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Wave 2. The NIDS is the first nationally representative survey on household wealth in South Africa. The cross-sectionally weighted data are found to be fit for use in terms of the univariate distributions of net worth, assets and liabilities, but population totals are probably underestimated due to the presence of missing wealth data in Phase 2 of Wave 2 that is not taken into account in the weights. When compared with national accounts estimates of household net worth, there is an apparent inversion of the estimated totals of financial assets versus non-financial assets. Further research is required into why this is so. We find that the NIDS wealth module is a suitable instrument for the analysis of household wealth
The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape colony
No full textEvidence on long-term multigenerational dynamics is often inadequate as large datasets with multiple generations remain very uncommon. We posit that genealogical records can offer a valuable alternative. Rather than exploring the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status, we rely on birth and death dates of eighteenth and nineteenth century settlers in South Africa's Cape Colony to estimate the intergenerational transmission of longevity. We find that there is a positive and significant association between parents’ and offspring's life duration, as well as between siblings. Although these correlations persist over time, the coefficients are relatively small. While the effect of grandparents’ longevity on that of grandchildren is insignificant, the cousin correlations suggest that inequality in longevity might persist across more than two generations. We suggest that family and environmental factors shared by cousins, beyond grandparental longevity, can explain these results
The economic valuation of nature-based tourism in the South African Kgalagadi area and implications for the Khomani San ‘bushmen’ community
No full textThe economic importance of the various attributes of dryland nature-based tourism in the Kgalagadi area is generally unknown, as is the distribution of benefits from such tourism. This study seeks to value selected attributes of nature-based tourism in the Kgalagadi area by applying the choice experiment technique and then assessing the potential for nature-based tourism to contribute to the Khomani San ‘bushmen’ livelihoods through a payment for ecosystem services scheme. The values placed on the attributes by park visitors are estimated using the conditional logit and random parameter logit models. The visitors prefer more pristine recreational opportunities, increased chances of seeing predators and disapprove of granting the local Khomani San communities access to grazing opportunities inside the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Notably, the marginal willingness to pay for pristine recreational opportunities across all models ranging from R76.96 (US20.88) per trip depending on the type of restrictions imposed. Given that previous studies report that the Khomani San are willing to accept reasonable compensation for relevant resource-use restrictions, there is scope for a payment for ecosystem services scheme where visitors could be charged additional park entry fees sufficient to compensate the local communities to accept a restriction of natural resource use in the Kgalagadi area
Who is taking up voluntary medical male circumcision? Early evidence from Tanzania
No full textWe examined the impacts of nationwide voluntary medical male circumcision efforts in Tanzania. Using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data, we found that circumcision rates increased from 37 to 47% in regions targeted by the programme. Those who took up medical male circumcision were younger, more educated, wealthier and more likely to use condoms. Efforts going forward should focus on stimulating circumcision demand among more vulnerable men
Rural Livelihoods in South Africa
No full textThis paper discusses the changing profile of rural livelihoods in South Africa using the National Income Dynamics Study Waves 1 – 3 data (Southern Africa Labour & Development Research Unit (SALDRU), 2013a, 2013b, 2013c). The rural sector is undergoing a form of compositional change, with the literature suggesting that a phenomenon of de-agrarianisation is taking place as households become more dependent on government grants while moving away from agricultural-based activities. Furthermore, Tribal Authority Areas (TAAs) retain a communal form of land tenure that implies very different social and behavioural norms in these areas compared to formal rural areas. We find that there are indeed very different labour market, migration and subsistence agricultural trends between TAAs and formal rural areas. For the rural sector in general, selected findings include that rural migrants who have moved to urban areas between 2008-2012 have a higher probability of being employed than rural stayers; that among the employed population, the major transition out of agriculture was to the transport, storage and communication sector while the major transition into agricultural employment was from the wholesale & retail sector; and finally that there is indeed evidence that de-agrarianisation is taking place in the NIDS rural sample, with individuals much more likely to transition out of either commercial or subsistence agricultural activities than to start doing these activities.Reza C. Daniels - Corresponding author. School of Economics and SALDRU, UCT. [email protected]
Andrew Partidge - Western Cape Department of Agriculture
Dineo Kekana and Sibongile Musundwa - SALDRU, UC
Educational expenditure in South Africa: Evidence from the National Income Dynamics Study
No full textDifferential education expenditure by racial group was a pillar in the architecture of apartheid. School systems diverged by racial group, with large funding and curriculum differences (Fiske and Ladd, 2004). In 1994, spending on white learners was about 1.5 times the spending on urban African learners and more than four times the spending on rural African learners (Fiske and Ladd, 2004). Since 1994 much focus has been paid by government to redress these educational expenditure inequalities with policies such as the
National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF) and the rollout of the no fee schools program disproportionately allocating state funds to low socioeconomic schools and the fee‐exemption policy providing low income households and grant recipients access to free education. Little is however known about how these policies have affected household educational expenditure across the income distribution.Nicola Branson is postdoctoral research fellow in the Southern African Labour Development Unit at the
University of Cape Town (UCT). Dineo Kekana is a research intern in the National Income Dynamics Study
(NIDS) at UCT. David Lam is Professor of Economics and Research Professor in the Population Studies
Center at the University of Michigan
The significant decline in poverty in its many dimensions since 1993
No full textThe measurement of poverty should include dimensions of well-being that cannot be measured in monetary terms. Data on health, education and standards of living can be used to calculate a so-called Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). Results suggest that both the prevalence and the intensity of multidimensional poverty fell significantly from 1993 to 2010. The decline in multidimensional poverty is much greater than the decline in poverty as measured in terms of income and/or expenditure. Better social services and infrastructure have played a large role
How do the non-searching unemployed feel about their situation? On the definition of unemployment.
No full textNew evidence suggests that non-searching unemployed people are significantly less satisfied with their lives than people who are not economically active. Indeed, the non-searching unemployed have hit rock bottom. Assuming that people do not freely choose an unsatisfactory state of living, a case is made that the non-searching unemployed – or ‘discouraged workers’ – are involuntarily unemployed and should be included in the definition and measurement of the labour force. Consequently, a case is made for the adoption of the broad measure of unemployment