921 research outputs found
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Non-monetary dimensions of well-being: A comment
No full textBhorat and van der Westhuizen (2013) use asset indices to explore inequality in post-Apartheid South Africa. We show that the way in which the asset indices were transformed to calculate the Gini coefficients does not preserve the relative ranking of inequality measures on subgroups. This means that the reported trends are not robust. Even if they were, it is difficult to interpret the coefficients
Credit constraints and the racial gap in post-secondary education in South Africa
No full textThis paper analyzes the impact of high school household income and scholastic ability on post-secondary enrollment in South Africa. Using longitudinal data from the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS), we analyze the large racial gaps in the proportion of high school graduates who enroll in university and other forms of post-secondary education. Although there are enormous income differences between blacks and whites, and a strong relationship between income and post-secondary enrollment, we find that credit constraints are only a small contributor to the large racial gap in enrollment. Controlling for parental education and baseline scholastic ability (measured by a literacy and numeracy exam and performance on the grade 12 matriculation exam) reduces the estimated impact of household income on university enrollment, though there continues to be an effect at the top of the income distribution. We also find evidence of credit constraints on non-university forms of post-secondary enrollment. Counterfactual estimates indicate that if all South Africans had the incomes of the richest whites, African university enrollment would increase by 65%, even without changing parental education or high school academic achievement. The racial gap in university enrollment would narrow only slightly, however, as our results suggest that this gap in postsecondary enrollment results mainly from the large racial gap in high school academic achievement.David Lam is Professor of Economics and Research Professor in the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan. Murray Leibbrandt is the National Research Foundation Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality Analysis and Director of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town. Cally Ardington is Associate Professor in SALDRU at the University of Cape Town. Nicola Branson is Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in SALDRU at the University of Cape Town.Support for this research was provided by the South African National Research Foundation/Department of Science and Technology: Human and Social Dynamics in Development Grand Challenge, the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grants R01HD39788 and R01HD045581), the Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (D43TW000657), the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Canadian International Development Research Centre. The Cape Area Panel Study, which provides the key data for this paper, operates with the approval of Institutional Review Boards at the University of Cape Town and the University of Michigan
Trends in teenage childbearing and schooling outcomes for children born to teens in South Africa
No full textTeenage childbearing is considered a social problem with costs to the teenage mother, her child and society at large. In South Africa, media attention suggests a contemporary crisis in teen childbearing; often linking this to a fear that the Child Support Grant incentivises motherhood among teens. Despite these assertions, there is little empirical research assessing the trends in teen childbearing over time in South Africa and the intergenerational consequences of teenage childbearing. This paper uses six nationally representative household surveys to show that, while teenage childbearing decreased between 1980 and 2008, it is not an uncommon event in South Africa. Around 25% of women gave birth before age 20 in 2008. Children born to teen mothers are found to have worse educational outcomes, with children of young teen mothers most at risk. Differences are found between population groups, with the association largest and increasing over time for coloureds and relatively small and stable for Africans. About half the association can be explained by relative levels of poverty and maternal education
Moving out and moving in: Evidence of short-term household change in South Africa from the National Income Dynamics Study
No full textWe use longitudinal data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) to document the extent of recent short-term residential and household compositional change in South Africa. We analyze the demographic correlates of these transitions, including population group, age, urban/rural status, and income. We examine educational and labour market transitions among movers and the prevalence of the four major types of compositional change – births, addition of joiners, deaths, and loss of leavers. We find that short-term household change is prevalent in South Africa. During a 2-year period from 2008 to 2010, 10.5% of South Africans moved residence and 61.3% experienced change in household composition. We find that moving is more common among blacks and whites, very young children, young adults, urban individuals, and those with higher incomes. Among non-movers, compositional change is more likely for blacks and coloureds, young adults and children, females, urban individuals, and individuals with lower incomes.Murray Leibbrandt acknowledges the Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and
Technology and National Research Foundation for funding his work as the Research Chair in Poverty and
Inequality.
April Williamson acknowledges the Yale Global Health Initiative and the Lindsay Fellowship for Research in
Africa for funding her work at the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit
The influence of social transfers on labour supply: A South African and international review
No full textThis paper surveys the South African and international literature surrounding the impact of cash transfers on labour supply. We find that although social transfers are condemned for creating state-dependency, the reality is that their effect on labour force participation is both ambiguous and dependent on a number of factors. At the most basic level, transfers either decrease participation by transferring time from work towards leisure activities, or increase participation by covering the fixed costs and credit constraints associated with working, particularly for women, those with low levels of education and other vulnerable groups. Child-support grants may cover childcare or education costs, thus allowing mother’s to enter the labour force. Grants can also have an effect on the labour supply of non-recipient household members, particularly when the recipient is a female, as women tend to allocate funds more freely throughout the household. The State Old Age Pension has been seen to induce both in and out-migration of household members. Programme design may also play a role, as means-testing can induce potential beneficiaries to reduce labour participation in order to become eligible for benefits. The education and health-care conditions attached to many transfers can also increase human capital formation and therefore create a long-term positive impact on labour market participation.Murray Leibbrandt, DST/NRF Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research, SALDRU, School of Economics, UCT
Kezia Lilenstein, Graduate Researcher, SALDRU, School of Economics, UCT, [email protected]
Callie Shenker, Graduate Researcher, SALDRU, School of Economics, UCT, [email protected]
Ingrid Woolard, Research Associate, SALDRU and Associate Professor, School of Economics, UCT,This paper was produced for the project “Social Protection and Labour Market Outcomes of Youth in South Africa” that was funded by the IDRC. We gratefully acknowledge this funding. Murray Leibbrandt acknowledges the Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation for funding his work as the Research Chair in Poverty and Inequality
Revisiting wage subsidies: How pro-poor is a South African wage subsidy likely to be?
No full textWage subsidies have been used in both developed and developing countries to raise employment. After a decade of deliberation, the South African Government recently announced the introduction of a wage subsidy scheme. Given the intrinsic link between unemployment and poverty in South Africa, the belief is that a wage subsidy programme sufficient in scope will also make inroads into poverty. However, the way in which jobs are distributed among poor and non-poor jobseekers is crucial. Our general equilibrium microsimulation model confirms the expectation that a higher wage elasticity of labour demand is associated with larger reductions in poverty. We also find that a greater proportion of new jobs accrue to poor jobseekers when the elasticity is high. While youth-targeting does not improve the poverty-reducing effect of the policy, sectors such as textiles, accommodation, and construction services with their pro-poor employment profiles are good candidates for targeting
Concurrent sexual partnerships among young adults in Cape Town, South Africa: How is concurrency changing?
No full textBACKGROUND:
The current debate about the role of concurrent sexual partnerships in the spread of HIV is influenced by limited or weak empirical data on concurrency. There is still uncertainty about the most basic statistics and little is known about how concurrency is changing.
METHODS:
Longitudinal data (n=2958) with repeated concurrency measures were employed to examine the prevalence of individual concurrency (someone has other partners during their most recent sexual partnership) and perceived partner concurrency (someone perceives his or her partner to have other partners) by population group and gender in 2005 and 2009. Individual fixed-effects logit regression models were created to examine factors associated with changes in individual concurrency among Black men and women.
RESULTS:
The prevalence of individual concurrency increased among Black men who reported having had sex (from 33% in 2005 to 39% in 2009), remained constant among Black women (14%), decreased among Coloured (mixed-race) men (from 16% to 8%) and remained low among Coloured women (2% in 2005 and 1% in 2009). Overall, a small decrease in perceived partner concurrency was observed. Changes in individual concurrency were positively associated with changes in perceived partner concurrency among men and women. Among Black women, decreases in household income and finding employment increased the odds of reporting a positive change in individual concurrency.
CONCLUSIONS:
Race and gender differences in concurrency should be taken into account in future research and HIV prevention initiatives. High and increasing levels of concurrency within most recent partnerships among Black men highlight this group as a potential focus for such efforts
Effects of household shocks and poverty on the timing of traditional male circumcision and HIV risk in South Africa
No full textPoverty may influence HIV risk by increasing vulnerability to economic shocks and thereby preventing key health investments. We explored this possibility by examining the relationship between household shocks and the timing of traditional male circumcision, a practice associated with considerable expense and whose HIV-prevention benefits are larger when done earlier, even within young adulthood. Using unique data on a sample of Xhosa men, a group that almost universally practices traditional circumcision, we found that respondents in the poorest households delayed circumcision by 2 years if a household member experienced loss of income or death and/or illness. The impact of these shocks declined with increasing household income. Our findings suggest that interventions that work to mitigate the impact of shocks among the poor may be useful in HIV prevention efforts. More generally, they illustrate that the relationship between HIV and wealth may be more nuanced than assumed in previous work
Food expenditure patterns in South Africa: Evidence from the NIDS
No full textThis study evaluates food expenditure patterns in South Africa using the Engel framework which states that proportions spent on food fall with income. Non-parametric methods are used to estimate Engel curves, and regression analysis to evaluate the effects of several variables on shares of total expenditure on food using the Working-Leser model. Pooled OLS is used to compare the exposure and sensitivity to changing expenditure capacity between waves. We find that households were spending proportionally less on food in 2008 compared to 2010 and 2012 and that food is the most important item of expenditure in most households by looking at budget shares. The sensitivity of the share of total expenditure dedicated to food varies with expenditure capacity. The effect of food price inflation on all households in South
Africa is conjectured to contribute markedly to this trend, though we cannot confirm that hypothesis with NIDS data alone. The implications for food security is fertile ground for further research on this issue.Vukile Mhlongo - Southern Africa Labour & Development Research Unit, UCT
Reza Che Daniels - School of Economics and Southern Africa Labour & Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town
Social protection and labour market outcomes of youth in South Africa
No full textAn Apartheid-driven spatial mismatch between workers and jobs leads to high job search costs for people living in rural areas of South Africa—costs that many young people cannot pay. In this paper, we examine whether the arrival of a social grant – specifically a generous state old age pension given to men and women above prime age – enhances the ability of young men in rural areas to seek better work opportunities elsewhere. Using 8 waves of socioeconomic data on household living arrangements and members’ characteristics and employment status, collected between 2001 and 2011 at a demographic surveillance site in KwaZulu-Natal, we find that young men are significantly more likely to become labor migrants when someone in their household becomes age-eligible for the old-age pension. More specifically, we find that pension gain is a significant force, encouraging migration for work, but only among those who have successfully completed high school (matric). On average, relative to other potential labour migrants, young men with a matric are 8 percentage points more likely to migrate for work when their households become pension eligible. Among young men who were observed as labour migrants, we find that, upon pension loss, it is the youngest men who are the most likely to return to their sending households, perhaps because they are the least likely to be self-sufficient at the point the pension is lost. We present evidence consistent with binding credit constraints limiting young men from poorer households from seeking more lucrative work elsewhere