The well-being of South African university students from low-income households

ABSTRACT

The role of higher education in development and social mobility is now widely acknowledged and globally recognised. In South Africa in particular, graduates have greatly increased employment prospects. This paper takes up the importance of addressing South African university students’ multi-dimensional well-being in the light of global higher education development agendas. Considering poverty and development in the space of higher education – specifically in the lives of youth from low-income households in South Africa – I draw on two waves of life history data from undergraduate students at five universities. Material-cultural conditions for a threshold of well-being emerged powerfully in every single student narrative, indicating a need for some rethinking of capability deprivation and poverty. This paper conceptualises three broad hardship categories specific to higher education, considering the multiplicity of factors and complexity of low-income in student experiences and achievements. Even though the theoretical framing draws on Sen’s capability approach and its attractive moral perspective, the paper also foregrounds students’ material well-being as significant in understanding how education can advance change, and not only reproduce social inequalities. The challenge remains, how do we reconcile resources and capabilities, and to link freedoms to financial analysis in evaluating the lives that students value?     

Nussbaum’s capability approach and African environmental ethics: is the African voice heard?

ABSTRACT

Martha Nussbaum’s capability approach (CA) offers a framework for a universal conception of human development. This paper interrogates Nussbaum’s approach using African environmental ethics (AEE) to see if it captures African ways of valuing nature. It looks at two ways in which Nussbaum’s approach considers the value of the natural environment: a) by applying her list of capabilities to non-human animals and b) by including, what is here termed, an environmental capability in Nussbaum's list of ten central capabilities she deems necessary for a person to flourish. The author argues that, despite limitations and need for further exploration, the second way of ‘environment capability’ aligns well with how nature is valued in AEE. The author also shows that both Nussbaum and AEE value nature in a way that, while not necessarily intrinsic, goes beyond material instrumentality and opens avenues for further discussion of the capabilities approach in traditional value systems     

To Trust or Not to Trust? Consumer Responses to Cause-Related Marketing

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand if company trustworthiness and the type of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns (strategic vs. tactical) affect purchase intention and company image of a yogurt producer, under the control of socially responsible consumer behavior, general trust, income, attitude toward the CRM campaign, and initial company image. The study applies a quantitative (experimentation) research to test the proposed model. MANCOVA was applied with data obtained from 600 respondents who were selected by a two-stage cluster sampling method. The research model is partially supported. Company trustworthiness and CRM type are found to affect only company image and without any interaction effect. Being a highly trustworthy company applying a CRM campaign has more positive influence on company image than a less trustworthy one. Additionally, a strategic CRM campaign creates more positive influence on company image than a tactical one. The findings are further deliberated with the managers of the two selected companies with focus group discussions.     

Does it Matter that we do not Agree on the Definition of Poverty? A Comparison of Four Approaches

While there is world-wide agreement on poverty reduction as an overriding goal of development policy, there is little agreement on the definition of poverty. Four approaches to the definition and measurement of poverty are reviewed in this paper: the monetary, capability, social exclusion and participatory approaches. The theoretical underpinnings of the various measures and problems of operationalizing them are pointed out. It is argued that each is a construction of reality, involving numerous judgements, which are often not transparent. The different methods have different implications for policy, and also, to the extent that they point to different people as being poor, for targeting. Empirical work in Peru and India shows that there is significant lack of overlap between the methods with, for example, nearly half the population identified as in poverty according to monetary poverty but not in capability poverty, and conversely. This confirms similar findings elsewhere. Hence, the definition of poverty does matter for poverty eradication strategies.     

The retail warehouse: A hybrid form of development

Summary

The paper examines the property market aspects of retail warehouse development. To set the context for the discussion, the history of the development of retail warehouses is traced, highlighting the increasing sophistication of this form of trading and comparing the future development prospects in each of the three main goods sectors. Comparative rental evidence provides the basis for the discussion of the relative influences of the retail and industrial property markets which follows, from which it is evident that the market for retail warehouses is much more strongly related to the industrial market than to the retail market. It is concluded, however, that the influence of the industrial market is likely to weaken as grouped developments of retail warehouses become more common and thus a ranking of centres emerges which is reflected in increasingly differentiated rental levels. Finally, the impact of planning policies on retail warehouse developments is considered.     

Duration and convexity in commercial property lease management

Summary

This paper examines the application of portfolio immunization strategies to leasehold real estate investments. It illustrates how measures such as duration and convexity can be used to improve the management of property portfolios and it also shows how the application of these statistical techniques can make more explicit the comparison of property assets with other investment media.     

Methodological limitations in the evaluation of policies to reduce nitrate leaching from New Zealand agriculture

The land‐use optimisation framework, NZFARM, has been promoted as a tool that can be used to assess the economic and environmental impacts of policy on regional land use. This paper outlines how methodological limitations presently restrict its capacity to provide meaningful insight into the relative value of alternative land‐use configurations. The model is calibrated using positive mathematical programming, which has been shown in the literature to result in models that yield arbitrary output outside of the calibrated baseline. There is a high likelihood that this is the case, as no validation appears to have been carried out. Significant model development will be required before NZFARM outputs can be used with any confidence to inform future policy development. We conclude with suggestions on how NZFARM and models of its kind can be further developed to improve their capacity for meaningful simulation.     

Women,Wives and Land Rights in Africa: Situating Gender Beyond the Household in the Debate Over Land Policy and Changing Tenure Systems

The debate over land reform in Africa is embedded in evolutionary models, in which it is assumed landholding systems are evolving into individualized systems of ownership with greater market integration. This process is seen to be occurring even without state protection of private land rights through titling. Gender as an analytical category is excluded in evolutionary models. Women are accommodated only in their dependent position as the wives of landholders in idealized 'households'. This paper argues that gender relations are central to the organization and transformation of landholding systems. Women have faced different forms of tenure insecurity, both as wives and in their relations with wider kin, as landholding systems have been integrated into wider markets. These cannot be addressed while evolutionary models dominate the policy debate. The paper draws out these arguments from experience of tenure reform in Tanzania and asks how policy-makers might address these issues differently.     

The Impact of Technology Accumulation on Technical Efficiency: An Analysis of the Sri Lankan Clothing and Agricultural Machinery Industries

This paper examines the effects of technology accumulation on firm-level technical efficiency in the Sri Lankan clothing and agricultural machinery industries, using cross-section survey data. Econometric analysis of the economic effects of technology development in developing countries is limited and this paper seeks to address this gap in the literature. The analysis shows simple adaptive technical change to have a significant and positive effect on efficiency in both industries. In addition, variables relating to technological skills and training also emerge as significant determinants of firm-level efficiency.     

Poverty and its many dimensions: The role of income as an indicator

Abstract

In this paper we analyse the choice of the dimension in which poverty is to be measured by reviewing some implications arising from the debate on the concept of welfare. By discussing Sen's capability approach, in particular, it is suggested that income or consumption are not necessarily the only indicators of interest in a poverty analysis. We then explore how comprehensive a picture of poverty can be gained by focusing on an income‐based measure, using Chilean data from 1992. We analyse the role of income both as having a direct impact on a set of indicators of well‐being and as proxying the relevant factors affecting them. In both cases the link is found to be weak. This suggests that poverty analysis is highly conditional on the indicators chosen and that the approach should be kept as broad as possible in order to capture more fully the multidimensional nature of such a complex phenomenon.     

Application of linear programming — a case study

Summary

Linear programming deals with optimization problems that can be modelled with a linear objective function subject to a set of linear constraints. The objective of these problems is either to minimize resources for a fixed level of performance, or to maximize performance at a fixed level of resources. Among all the mathematical optimization techniques, linear programming is perhaps the most used and best understood by the business and industrial community (Aguilar, 1973).

Although many problems in architecture, engineering, construction and urban and regional development can be modelled with linear objective functions subject to sets of linear constraints, the application of linear programming in these fields is not common. By using a case problem — to find the best development option for a given site that yields the highest financial return to a developer — this paper demonstrates how this optimization technique can be applied in development projects as well as its potential contribution to decision makers in arriving at sensible and sound decisions, so that scarce urban resources can be utilized efficiently.     

The quest for a sustainable spatial planning framework in Zimbabwe and Zambia

Over the years, the Zimbabwean and Zambian governments have been facing severe spatial development inequalities. They have therefore put in place various policies and strategies in a bid to ensure equitable spatial development. Spatial planning, which refers to the distribution of land uses and people, not only focuses on the physical aspects of land but also on national economic, environmental and social policies. This paper examines spatial planning frameworks in Zimbabwe and Zambia and how they have influenced spatial planning. The effect of spatial planning frameworks on development reveals a close relationship between spatial plans and spatial planning outcomes. The study shows how changes in institutional and legal frameworks affects development in different sectors of the economy and that a holistic approach to planning promotes sustainable development without neglecting other sectors. The data for the study was drawn primarily from secondary sources through a review of documents such as statutes, local development plans and other statutory instruments. The study found that in order to achieve sustainable spatial planning, there is need for a sustainable framework to guide spatial planning. Sustainable spatial planning frameworks also control and promote spatial development in both Zimbabwe and Zambia. Both institutional and legal frameworks guiding spatial planning should be sustainable for the benefit of future generations.     

‘Paradigms of development: The East Asian debate’: A comment

Abstract

Sanjaya Lall's contribution to the debate on the role of industrial policy in economic development (Oxford Development Studies, 24, pp. 111–131,1996) is criticized. Part of the argument concerns the nature of development experience in Hong Kong, where deindustrialization is not regarded as a sign of lack of industrial policy, as argued by Lall. More generally, the article contends that selective intervention is not necessarily the key to capturing the benefits of dynamic comparative advantage, that intervention costs can be large, and that governments can have difficulty in devising and implementing plans for the development of technological capability.     

In the wake of conflict: the long-term effect on child nutrition in Uganda

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency from 1986 to 2006 is one of the longest conflicts in Uganda. This paper examines the effect of the LRA insurgency on child nutrition using the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. The distance from each village to the border of South Sudan is used as an instrument for identifying the intensity of the conflict. We find that each conflict event in a village lowers weight-for-age z-scores and weight-for-height z-scores for children born after the conflict. We further investigate a possible heterogeneous conflict effect on child nutrition in terms of gender, region, and maternal education. Low household wealth, limited access to healthcare, and poor maternal nutrition appear to be channels through which the conflict inhibits the growth and development of children 5 years after the end of the conflict.     

Livestock Identification

Abstract

An array of concerns about animal health, potential bio-terrorism, food safety, international trade, consumer demand for credence attributes, and improving supply chain management are igniting unprecedented change in the international meat and livestock market. One noteworthy development is accelerated advancement of national individual animal identification programs. This study reviews how these systems work and what motivates animal traceback system implementation. A case study approach is used to overview an extensive system currently being used and developed in Australia. Based upon the Australian experience, we present recommendations for pending U.S. animal identification systems.     

Firm Size,Technological Capabilities and Market-oriented Policies in Mauritius

Mauritius is an outlier in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of its impressive growth in garment exports since it adopted outward-oriented policies in the early 1980s. Little, however, is known about the role of technological factors in the behaviour of Mauritian garment exporters. Using recent methodological developments in the literature on technological capabilities, this paper explores this issue. It constructs a "technology index" and conducts econometric analysis on factors affecting enterprise-level technological development and export performance in a sample of enterprises. Firm size, technical manpower, training expenditures and external technical assistance are positively related to the technology index, suggesting that investments in human capital and information (both facilitated by size) improve technological performance. The technology index and foreign ownership have positive and significant effects on export performance. The technology index is a robust tool of empirical research and can be used to analyse the technological record of enterprises in adjusting countries.     

Scottish structure plans and their role as indicators of future retail developments

Summary

In trying to form a view of what the pattern of retail development in Scotland is likely to be in the early years of next century, it is important to gain an understanding of how the physical planning framework influences the development process. Most Scottish Structure Plans now contain detailed statements of policy on retail development and the Scottish Development Department (SDD) periodically issues planning guidelines, including guidelines on the location of major retail developments. Much of this paper is taken up with analysis and interpretation of Structure Plan policies on retailing and the SDD's new planning guidelines, issued in December 1986.

Previous work in this subject area has identified common elements in Structure Plan policies on retailing and has pointed to the difficulties planners face in formulating policies appropriate to the dynamism of the industry. This paper attempts to go further than previous work by showing how policies are evolving in the face of change in the retail industry. Four broad trends in policy development are identified. The paper also describes the distinguishing features of the retailing policies of the six regional planning authorities in Scotland.

The review of Structure Plans, which was accompanied by a series of interviews with planning officers, highlighted a number of issues for further discussion. It is clear that the SDD's new guidelines on the location of major retail developments are being interpreted differently by different planning authorities and that the full intent of the guidelines has yet to emerge. Local authorities are also concerned about how the necessary environmental improvements in town and city centres are to be financed. Particularly in light of the emergence of new forms of shopping and proposals for new large‐scale and out‐of‐town developments, a further issue is the feasibility of retailing policies based on the principle of hierarchy.

Although there is no reason to suspect that the continuation of Structure Planning in Scotland may be in doubt, the question also arises of whether the plans have a future, given that Structure Planning is to be abandoned in England and Wales. The answer to the question is, ultimately, political, but Structure Planning in Scotland does appear to work. Scotland has a more coherent structure of local government than England and Wales and, unlike their counterparts elsewhere in Britain, upper‐tier local authorities in Scotland can exert strategic control over the development process by virtue of their call‐in powers.

The paper comes to the qualified conclusion that Scottish Structure Plans do, or at least have the potential to, indicate the way ahead for the pattern of retail development. The qualification is necessary because Structure Plans generally are in a state of flux and, for this reason, it is not entirely clear whether the policies are anticipating change in the retailing industry or are simply reacting to it. Some of the remaining uncertainties should be resolved, however, when Structure Plan policies are reviewed in light of the new planning guidelines.     

Operationalising the capability approach: developing culturally relevant indicators of indigenous wellbeing – an Australian example

The tension that exists between the worldviews of Indigenous peoples and government reporting frameworks is what Taylor has termed ‘the recognition or translation space’. The meaningful operation of the ‘recognition space’ hinges on four key points – firstly, why measure wellbeing, secondly, how wellbeing is conceptualised, thirdly, by what process the wellbeing measures are decided, and finally, who makes those decisions. Sen’s capability approach is concerned with development as a process of expanding people’s freedoms to live the life they have reason to value. It is in this spirit of freedom that Sen has not prescribed a fixed list of functioning and capabilities. The open-ended nature of this approach, in letting the identification of important capabilities be dependent on specific contexts and people’s own values, aligns with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples which asserts that Indigenous people must be agents of their own development. This paper contributes to the understanding of what a good life means by augmenting the capability approach to incorporate Indigenous worldviews. Through participatory research methodologies we define and select indicators of wellbeing which are grounded in the lived experiences of the Yawuru people in Broome, Western Australia.     

Principles of partnership schemes: Theory and practice

Summary

The paper assesses the dominant influences in partnership schemes for town centre redevelopment. The analysis of policy development in the public and private sectors is drawn together into an interorganizational framework, stressing joint approaches to action. Much development activity requires co‐operation by the public and private sectors, and the principal areas examined are the procedures adopted to implement partnerships, the linkages used and the actors involved at each stage. Original research was undertaken, notably case studies of Newcastle, Droitwich and Solihull. These investigations illustrate the diversity of working relationships, wherein individual responsibilities are directed towards collective action, and proper communication between development partners is essential. Although partnership operation is partly dependent on a reticulist who can co‐ordinate and initiate action, the most important aspects are the established procedures, which offer little opportunity for innovation, and the attitude of individual actors, which tends to reinforce current thinking rather than challenge it. Among those influences with an external origin, finance and politics have the greatest impact. Nevertheless, decision taking still operates in an ad hoc way, responding only as issues arise and thus contributing to the incremental development of policy and the maintenance of the status quo within the land market.     

Implications for investors,managers, auditors,valuers and regulators of discrepancies in commercial valuations

Summary

The discrepancy between appraised valuations and market prices is a cause for concern to valuers, investors, bankers, trustees, accountants, auditors, portfolio managers and regulators. Members of each group need to clarify how the potential costs of a discrepancy will effect them. Error metrics, relevant to the risk profile of interested parties, are illustrated as a means of quantifying the exposure to which each is subjected. Dialogue and discussion between interest groups is thought to be the best way of overcoming the apparent anomally.