Poverty,livelihood and class in rural South Africa

Using data from a national living standards survey undertaken in late 1993, this paper disaggregates and explores the economics of livelihood generation and class in rural South Africa in an effort to contribute to the ongoing and vociferous debate in South Africa about poverty and its alleviation. Pursuant to the suggestion of participants in a recent participatory poverty assessment, this paper analyzes what might be termed the class structure of poverty. After exploring the range of claiming systems and livelihood tactics available in rural South Africa, the paper offers a first look at who the poor are by disaggregating the rural population into discrete livelihood strategy classes. Non-parametric regression methods are used to then estimate and graphically explore the nature of the livelihood mapping between endowments and real incomes. In addition to identifying those endowment combinations that map to consumption levels below the poverty line (the asset basis of poverty), the topography of the estimated livelihood mapping helps identify the constraints that limit household's ability to effectively utilize their assets and endowments. These results suggest that poverty is a matter of not only having few assets, but also of constraints which limit the effectiveness with which those assets are used, and poverty and livelihood policy needs to be designed accordingly.     

Poverty and inequality in South Africa: critical reflections

ABSTRACT

South Africa is a paradox; on the one hand, it is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Half of all South Africans continue to live in poverty, economic growth has stagnated and inflation remains high, while the unemployment rate continues to climb towards 30%. On the other hand, it has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, with a bill of rights that foregrounds expanded socioeconomic rights. We provide an overview of the latest statistics on poverty and inequality in light of overarching economic policies, and the socioeconomic guarantees of the Constitution. We argue that South Africa’s inability to meaningfully address the high levels of inequality is due to insufficient attention to the way power reproduces inequality. We present a definition of power that includes social and market power, and emphasise the importance of a theory of power in understanding the reproduction of inequality.     

Remaining at the margins: Case study of farmworkers in the North West Province,South Africa

This article explores living conditions, livelihoods and prospects of farmworkers with regard to land reform legislation. Research was conducted from 2004 to 2010 on four farms in the North West Province, interviewing farmworkers and farm owners. Representatives of the agricultural union Agri North West and land analysts were interviewed to obtain their perspective on farm labour. Despite protective legislation, farmworkers' living and working conditions have deteriorated. Farmworkers further lack alternative livelihood options, perpetuating their dependency on farm owners, who are the only ones providing services and some social security. Among the main barriers in the empowerment of farmworkers are limited insights regarding complex social relationships on farms, the challenge to address the specificity of power relations, and the marginalised position of farmworkers and their lack of agency in the broader political system. Both farmworkers and farm owners need support structures and strengthened institutional capacity to gradually change power dynamics.     

Poverty,human rights law and socio-economic realities in South Africa†

South Africa is a nation of immense variety. It has rich cultural diversity, an enviable climate and an abundance of natural resources. However, it is also a nation with vast economic disparities and a highly unequal distribution of income. Hence, in spite of abundant resources and a seemingly vibrant economy, South Africa still faces an enormous poverty problem that is fundamentally no different from that of other African countries. As in many other African countries this problem of poverty is compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic; by high levels of unemployment; by low levels of education; and by a number of other factors. Today, South Africa has one of the best constitutions in the world and a Bill of Rights that contains an array of justiciable socio-economic rights. The South African government has also attempted to alleviate poverty and mitigate its effects through progressively developing and expanding a social welfare system and other programmes such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy. The purpose of this article is to analyse the role of human rights (specifically the Bill of Rights in the Constitution) and government efforts to alleviate poverty (through certain programmes and service delivery) in the face of adverse socio-economic realities in South Africa.     

Poverty in South Africa – a statistical analysis

Poverty is one of the major challenges facing democratic South Africa. This article focuses on poverty in South Africa, using the Income and Expenditure Survey conducted in 1995 by Statistics South Africa (formerly the Central Statistical Service). In the first part, different approaches that can be followed in the measurement of poverty are discussed. In the second part, Sen's approach to the measurement of poverty and the Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) technique have been used to analyse the above data. CHAID is used to explore the relationship between the poverty status of the household (ie poor or non-poor) and other household characteristics. These variables can then be used as predictors of poverty status.     

Poverty in South Africa: Statistical inference for decomposable poverty measures

The measurement of poverty involves two problems: identifying the poor and constructing an index to measure the intensity of poverty. The headcount ratio is one of the widely used indices for the measurement of poverty. This article considers some of the other decomposable (i.e. additively separable) poverty measures. The importance of this property (decomposability) and of subgroup consistency for a poverty measure is highlighted. Since most of these poverty measures are estimated on the basis of sample surveys, the statistical significance of the observed differences is tested using the distribution-free approach proposed by Kakwani (1993, Review of Economics and Statistics , 75: 632-40). The Income and Expenditure Survey conducted in 1995 by Statistics South Africa, then called Central Statistical Service, is used in the study.     

Poverty,shocks and school disruption episodes among adolescents in KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

While conventional explanations of drop-out and grade repetition acknowledge the role of socioeconomic factors, this paper uses data collected in a KwaZulu-Natal study of adolescents to investigate the explicit contribution of poverty and shocks to school disruption episodes. The asset-vulnerability framework developed by Moser and others is used to develop a poverty-based theory of school disruption. Evidence against such a theory is also put forward. The results indicate that the poverty-based theory accounts in part for school disruption. Poverty is predictive of school disruption, female adolescents are particularly vulnerable to drop-out episodes, and adolescent pregnancy emerges as an important influence. However, household shocks do not seem to predict school disruption. Programmes that offer incentives for school attendance and improving school quality are put forward as policy options for South Africa.     

One Kind of Freedom: Poverty Dynamics in Post-apartheid South Africa

A 1993 South African living standards survey documented the legacy of apartheid in the form high levels of inequality and human insecurity. Drawing on a 1998 re-survey of households in the 1993 study, this paper explores whether this legacy has been superseded, or whether apartheid's end has been only one kind of freedom that has left households in a poverty trap from which they cannot escape. After proposing a theoretically grounded dynamic poverty typology that distinguishes stochastic from structural poverty transitions, the paper goes on to estimate that significant numbers of the South African poor are potentially trapped in a structural poverty trap and lack the means to escape poverty over time.     

Poverty issues for zero rating VAT in South Africa

Governments often include equity considerations when determiningrates for value added taxes (VAT). This paper explores the implicationof current and proposed tax exemptions in South Africa fromthe perspective of their impact on the expenditures of the poorand on the calorie and protein consumption of low-income households.Maize, which is currently exempted from VAT, is shown to bethe best choice for low tax rates from both the standpointsof equity and the impact on the food consumption of the poor.In contrast, lower tax rates on fluid milk, which is currentlyexempted from VAT, and meat, for which an exemption has beenproposed, are not good vehicles for assisting the poor. Thepaper illustrates the revenue forgone with zero tax rates onthese commodities and compares the tax relief for the poor andchange in nutrients consumed from alternative tax exemptions.     

Large and small houses in Luganda: housing construction and gender in South Africa

This article discusses the participation of women in housing delivery in Luganda, which occurred at a time of both political and economic changes that had a profound impact on their ability to consolidate their core structures. The findings suggest that few women in Luganda were involved in ‘skilled’ residential construction. When they participated, it was in supportive roles such as clearing the sites for construction, carrying water and mixing the concrete. However, home ownership brought women benefits in that their houses provided the space and infrastructure that they needed to effectively carry out their informal sector activities, which related to the services sector. This study argues that skilled work in construction is better remunerated than in the services sector, in which most women work. If women are to enter the formal construction sector it is imperative that they alter their attitudes and those of their spouses. Projects dealing with shelter delivery should therefore focus not only on the product but also on raising the consciousness of the beneficiaries with regard to gender matters.     

Poverty,HIV/AIDS and the old age pension in Bhambayi,Kwazulu-Natal,South Africa

To date the international community has tended to direct HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and supportive services to young adults and children, with little concern about the impact on older people. Since empirical evidence on the socioeconomic impact of HIV/AIDS on households with older persons is lacking, this paper attempts to fill this gap, using data from a household-based survey conducted in Bhambayi, a mixed formal and informal settlement north of eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal. The findings highlight the links between the uptake of the South African old age pension, poverty and HIV/AIDS in households with older persons. The paper makes recommendations for both government and non-governmental organisations in respect of community-based support systems for such households affected by HIV/AIDS.     

Sectoral Growth and Poverty Alleviation: A Multiplier Decomposition Technique Applied to South Africa

How does an increase in a sector's output affect poverty alleviation? In this paper a multiplier decomposition for a socioeconomic system represented by a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) is used to study this linkage. The decomposition applied to South Africa reveals that growth in agriculture, services and some manufacturing sectors can alleviate poverty for the black African population. For sectoral growth to be effective, however, the need for appropriate skill acquisition for the poor must be addressed directly. Only long-term policies geared towards improving both economic growth and the human capital stock of the poor can lead to significant poverty alleviation.     

Re-estimating gender differences in income in South Africa: The implications of equivalence scales

Most studies of poverty and inequality in South Africa measure individual welfare by deflating total household resources, such as income, by household size. This per-capita method makes no adjustments for the different consumption needs of children or for household economies of scale. However, in addition to being more likely to live in households where average per-capita household income is lower compared with men, we show that women in South Africa also live in significantly larger households which include more children. These gendered differences in household composition are driven to a large degree by low rates of co-residency between men and women. We therefore investigate how adjusting household resources for the presence of children and economies of scale affects measures of the gender gap in income.     

Population and Poverty in Africa

This paper sets out the position in Sub-Saharan Africa [SSA] regarding poverty and population. Africa has as much danger of starvation and depopulation [due to Aids] as of over population. The paper sets out a model of poverty based on the twin concepts of capabilities and entitlements. This is micro level approach and points to the importance of health and education as well as physical assets in analysing poverty. Issues of gender are always kept central. Income, access to public goods, physical assets and human capital are the four determinants of the status of any individual visavis poverty. In terms of access to public goods the paper develops a new measure of poverty based on daily calorie supply, access to clean water and access to health care. It would seem that nearly 90% of the population in 25 SSA countries or as many as 350 million can be counted as poor. Poverty is influenced by population most significantly if the household cannot afford education and health for its children. Other effects of population on poverty are thought to be transient. Poverty affects population by the complex interaction of the desire for children as insurance but an inability to ensure their survival. Population problems are most acute in societies which are developing enough to cut death rates drastically but not yet adjusted to lower infant mortality to modify their child bearing behaviour. Policy issues are discussed in the last section which highlights once again the central importance of education, health and land reforms.     

Population and Poverty in Africa

This paper sets out the position in Sub-Saharan Africa [SSA] regarding poverty and population. Africa has as much danger of starvation and depopulation [due to Aids] as of over population. The paper sets out a model of poverty based on the twin concepts of capabilities and entitlements. This is micro level approach and points to the importance of health and education as well as physical assets in analysing poverty. Issues of gender are always kept central. Income, access to public goods, physical assets and human capital are the four determinants of the status of any individual visavis poverty. In terms of access to public goods the paper develops a new measure of poverty based on daily calorie supply, access to clean water and access to health care. It would seem that nearly 90% of the population in 25 SSA countries or as many as 350 million can be counted as poor. Poverty is influenced by population most significantly if the household cannot afford education and health for its children. Other effects of population on poverty are thought to be transient. Poverty affects population by the complex interaction of the desire for children as insurance but an inability to ensure their survival. Population problems are most acute in societies which are developing enough to cut death rates drastically but not yet adjusted to lower infant mortality to modify their child bearing behaviour. Policy issues are discussed in the last section which highlights once again the central importance of education, health and land reforms.     

Assessing gender responsiveness of the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System in South Africa

There is growing recognition of the critical role that National Monitoring and Evaluation Systems can play in achieving sustainable development through enhancing effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of policies and programmes. The South African government legislated the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System (GWMES) in 2009. The extent of gender responsiveness of the system has not been assessed yet gender mainstreaming ensures that gender needs, realities and issues are consistently and specifically considered in policies, programmes and projects. The study utilises data from document reviews and key informant interviews to assess gender mainstreaming in the National Evaluation Policy (NEP) and the GWMES using a gender diagnostic matrix. Results indicate that the GWMES and NEP rank low in most gender-mainstreaming dimensions. However, the study concludes that existing policies and institutional frameworks if well supported by multiple stakeholders are conducive for effective gender mainstreaming within the GWMES in South Africa.     

Constraints facing tourism entrepreneurs in South Africa: a study in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces,South Africa

The current study is an investigation into tourism entrepreneurship of small, medium and micro enterprises in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Through Principal Factor Analysis, the paper identifies a three-factor instrument that could be used as a diagnostic tool to investigate how government policies and support, the tourism industry's products and services, and perceptions about South Africa could advance or constrain the development of small, medium and micro tourism in South Africa. Such a tool can be used to identify problematic areas in order to take remedial action to manage sustainable tourism in South Africa and prevent the leakage of profits.