921 research outputs found
Sort by
Does a motherhood penalty exist in the post-apartheid South African labour market?
No full textDo working mothers earn less than non-mothers in the South African labour market? This study examines whether there exists a motherhood (or child) penalty for Black African female employees in post-apartheid South Africa using data from wave 5 of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), from 2017. NIDS is the first nationally representative survey in South African to include comprehensive child birth history. Restricting analysis to women aged 20 to 49, the Mincerian regression model results from the analysis indicate that a motherhood penalty does exist, ceteris paribus. Moreover, the study uses unconditional quantile regressions (RIF-OLS) to examine the wage returns of mothers versus non-mothers along the wage distribution. The study finds that, when controlling for relevant observable characteristics, there exists a motherhood wage penalty at lower wage levels, but this effect wanes in prominence at higher wage quantiles. At higher wage levels, mothers earn higher hourly wages than their child-free counterparts, especially if they are married and work part-time. This result indicates the effect of a part-time hourly wage premium. The study then applies Oaxaca-Blinder type decompositions within the RIF framework to decompose changes in the motherhood wage gap along the distribution into explained and unexplained contributions related to a range of factors. The decomposition results indicate that only at the hourly wages of mothers minus wages of non-mothers are negative only at the 10th quantile, but positive everywhere else. Moreover, even though most of the wage differential between mothers and non-mothers is due to explained characteristics, at the lower levels unobservable traits have an impact on the wage gap. This implies that there are additional relevant factors such as societal norms, selection effects into employment and behavioural characteristics which should be considered when analysing women’s wage outcomes. Labour market policy needs to accommodate women with children, particularly if they are the main breadwinners at lower wage levels. Workplaces should consider embracing flexible work hours and provide the option for staff to work remotely.Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged
Realising a demographic dividend? A panel analysis to assess the outcomes of post-CSG beneficiaries
No full textAs a young person approaches their 18th birthday they should be faced with the excitement of completing their schooling and making decisions about their future educational and career paths. However, for the majority of young people in South Africa, turning 18 also comes rather with the realisation that they face a precarious future, with little support to enable them to effectively transition to further education or work. While the state invests heavily in the lives of children, there is far less support for young people. This has implications for how effectively young people can transition to autonomous adulthood and South Africa’s ability to realise the demographic dividend that should come as a result of a large youth population that is healthy and well-educated (Lin, 2012; Oosthuizen, 2013; Ssewamala, 2015).Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged
Factors influencing grant continuity and well-being outcomes for child grant beneficiaries
No full textIn 2017 the CSDA released a research report entitled “Family Contexts, the Child Support Grant, and Child Well-Being Outcomes” which included analysis of the NIDS 2008 data focusing on children under the age of 8 years old who received a CSG. This study builds on the earlier one. However, instead of the cross-sectional snapshot analysis, it investigates the situation for the same children nine years later, as reflected in the 2017 NIDS survey. In addition to the descriptive analysis of child recipients of the CSG provided in the earlier study, this new study explores the extent to which there are differences in outcomes between children who receive and do not receive the grant but are comparable in other respects. It also explores the extent to which the status of individual children changes between 2008 and 2017 in respect of receipt of the CSG i.e. to what extent children who were receiving the CSG in 2008 are no longer receiving it in 2017 and vice versa. This question is important as one would expect the impact to differ depending on the length of time over which the CSG was received.Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged
Unpacking grade repetition patterns in light of the progression policy in the Further Education and Training phase
No full textGrade repetition is considered to be an important measure of education since it is both an outcome of a previous failure, and a predictor of subsequent failure (Anderson, Case, & Lam, 2001). Grade retention or the practice of requiring learners to repeat a grade, is used to afford underachieving learners with an opportunity to master the content of their current grade as well as acquire developmentally appropriate skills. It has, however, been a controversial issue in the sector, with some defending it as a beneficial remedial practice to improve academic performance, while others argue that it has detrimental effects (Peixoto, et al., 2016)Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged
Exploring the transitions and well-being of young people who leave school before completing secondary education in South Africa
No full textIn South Africa, young people who have not completed their matric year, or the equivalent thereof, are more likely to struggle to find work, and remain unemployed for longer periods of time, or, if they do find work, are less likely to access stable, higher income jobs (Ingle and Mlatsheni, 2017; Mlatsheni and Ranchhod, 2017; Branson and Kahn, 2016; Salisbury, 2016; Van der Berg and Van Broekhuizen, 2012).
Internationally, a growing body of research indicates additional negative outcomes for youth who do not complete secondary education, ranging from higher levels of poverty, to ill health (including mental health), substance abuse, delinquency, incarceration, and prolonged dependence on social assistance (Bjerk, 2012; De Witte et al. 2013; Kimberly and Knight 2011; Lund, et al., 2018). These outcomes create an obvious concern for the loss of human potential for the individual. They also lead to questions about countries’ high rates of investment in educational systems and the effectiveness of those systems, and are at the basis of concerns about the larger societal and economic costs of incomplete education.Support from the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development and the Kresge
Foundation towards this research activity is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and
conclusions arrived at are those of the authors and are not necessarily to be attributed to the CoE
in Human Development.
Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged
Building social cohesion in South Africa
No full textThis paper uses data collected across the five waves of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), covering 2008-2017, to update a measure of social cohesion for South Africa. This updating exercise is important in validating the measure and establishing its credibility and potential use amongst policymakers. The index suggests that social cohesion has been improving over time in South Africa, albeit the gains have been small. These gains have been driven primarily by improvements in perceived trust, and more recently, as shown in the data for Wave 5, by reduced perceptions of inequality. Conversely, our results suggest that a sense of belonging has been eroded over time. Controlling for individual and time fixed effects, we examine the underlying individual and household characteristics that are correlated with these changes in dimensions of the social cohesion index. Our key results suggest that access to employment and earned income are positively associated with individual perceptions of trust, equality and a sense of belonging. Moreover, service delivery, particularly electrification, street lights, and refuse collection, has contributed positively towards building social cohesion. We also consider the use of national symbols and holidays to promote social cohesion. The results show that individuals interviewed soon after Freedom Day report significantly lower levels of trust but significantly higher levels of perceived equality than individuals interviewed later. Conversely, individuals interviewed soon after Heritage Day report significantly higher levels of trust than those interviewed later. Since public holidays are exogenously given, and interview date is, for the most part, also exogenous, these results certainly suggest that there may be short-term effects associated with the experience of a particular public holiday that undermine or promote social cohesion.Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged
The complementarity between cash transfers and financial literacy for child growth
No full textA large body of international research focuses on the corrective influence that cash transfers can have on the health of chronically malnourished children. However, the evidence also points to the heterogeneity of the impact of these cash grants within the recipient population. Identifying pre-existing household conditions that are correlated with grant efficacy can have important policy consequences. In this paper, we examine one such a condition, namely the financial literacy of the caregiver of the child. We make use of the fourth and fifth waves of the South African National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) data. We estimate the relationship between height and growth in a sample of children aged 0 to 7 years and the child support grant. We find that eligible children who have financially literate caregivers receiving the cash transfer on their behalf have higher growth trajectories over time, compared to children with financially illiterate caregivers. We however find no such effect for child height. Our results do not preclude a pure income effect for cash transfers: children who become CSG beneficiaries gain in height immediately, even without financially literate caregivers. Arguably, the combination of cash transfers and financial literacy have long-run benefits for children over and above an income effect. Although we are unable to identify the specific mechanisms through which financial literacy may impact child growth, we discuss some potential channels. The results have important policy implications regarding potential ways in which to improve the efficacy of the child support grant in South Africa.Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged
Changes in South African well-being between 2008/9 and 2014/15: The evidence from expenditure and asset data
No full textSouth Africa’s Living Conditions Surveys (LCSs) are crucial instruments in monitoring the well-being of South Africa’s population. Using expenditure as the yardstick for assessing well-being, the LCSs show a marked drop in poverty between 2008/09 and 2014/09. This would be a welcome trend. Unfortunately, the data collection method changed between these surveys so that there is at least some doubt as to whether the trend is real or due to measurement changes. Given that the expenditure modules are quite onerous for respondents this is an important question.
In this paper we assess the reliability of the measured improvement of welfare by analysing also the information in the asset modules of these surveys. In comparison to the expenditure diaries the asset modules are much easier to complete and should therefore be much less prone to measurement error. We combine the information in the asset variables by constructing various asset indices and show that if these are used across the surveys they confirm that indeed average well-being has improved between 2008/09 and 2014/15.This paper is based on Motshidisi Nthatisi’s research report submitted for the Postgraduate Diploma in Survey Data Analysis for Development (Nthatisi 2017). This is a joint Saldru and DataFirst working paper
Training, Human Capital, and Gender Gaps in Entrepreneurial Performance
No full textIn the aftermath of the global financial crisis, policymakers have been increasingly striving to support female entrepreneurship as a possible growth driver. This paper contributes to reconciling mixed findings in the literature on the effectiveness of entrepreneurial training with an analysis that links training and human capital, including tertiary education and non-cognitive skills, with gender gaps in entrepreneurial performance in Africa. We have found that while financial literacy training directly benefits men, it does not raise the sales level of women entrepreneurs. Instead, tertiary education has a direct positive link with the performance of women. Consistent with our theoretical model where different skills are complements, tertiary education can act as a channel that makes training effective. Regarding non-cognitive skills, evidence shows that women entrepreneurs who are tenacious achieve stronger sales performance. Our results underscore the importance of incorporating tertiary education and entrepreneurial training programs focused on a balanced set of skills, including non-cognitive skills, among policies for women entrepreneurs
Measuring employment volatility in South Africa using NIDS: 2008 - 2017
No full textSouth Africa is a country with exceptionally high rates of unemployment, much of which is experienced as a chronic state. At the same time, a subset of the population repeatedly transitions into and out of work, thus experiencing unemployment more as a transient than as a chronic state. Of the available data sources at present in South Africa, only a few have the longitudinal structure required to investigate the rates at which people find and lose employment.Funding for this research from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is gratefully
acknowledged