With the introduction of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) since 2008, a newly derived variable, namely underemployed, has become available. This variable is derived according to the "time-related" approach (i.e. those who are employed, but would like to work longer hours and are available to work longer hours in the near future). However, underemployment could also be derived according to the "inadequate employment situations" approach (e.g. underutilisation of skills, over-qualification). There are virtually no in-depth local studies that examine underemployment in South Africa. Hence, this paper investigates the extent of underemployment according to two definitions, before examining whether the characteristics of the underemployed are significantly different from those of the other employed.

One of the most important policy objectives in the post-apartheid South African economy is to reduce poverty. Although economic growth and job creation are the preferred sources of alleviating poverty and inequality, social grant spending has contributed significantly to reduce poverty (Van der Berg et al. in Poverty trends since the transition: what we know. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers: 19/09. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2009). Recently proposals were tabled by the Department of Social Development of South Africa (Fin24 in R3.3bn plan to extend child support grant to 21. www.fin24.com/Economy/R33bn-childcare grant extension to -21-on-cards-20150316. Accessed August 7, 2015, 2015) to extend the age eligibility of the child support grant (CSG) to 21 years (at the time of writing children aged up to 18 years are eligible). This sparked an interest to investigate the impact on poverty of changes to the eligibility criteria of CSG, as well as its fiscal implications. Using person and household data from the 2010/2011 Income and Expenditure Survey, various simulations are performed to assess the impact on poverty rates and changes to social spending, given the following changes: (1) if all age-eligible children applied; (2) if all beneficiaries received the grant amount for the full 12-month duration; (3) if the age eligibility criterion is extended; and (4) if the monthly child grant income amount is revised upwards. We also examine how changes in the eligibility criteria affect the income distribution.

The academic success of first-year Economics students has been examined in many South African studies in Economic Education. These studies controlled for differences in demographic characteristics, last school examination (Matric) subjects and results, as well as lecture and tutorial attendance when investigating differences in students' performance. While there is an abundance of international studies investigating the main reasons for attendance or non-attendance, these studies are rare in the South African context, especially in the field of Economics. Hence, this study fills the existing local research gap by investigating factors influencing lecture attendance as well as their possible impact on the performance of first-year Microeconomics students at the University of the Western Cape.The key empirical findings suggest that both lecture and tutorial attendance had a positive and significant impact on both the likelihood of qualifying to write the examination as well as the examination mark. In addition, students who enrolled in Economics in Matric and obtained better marks in first-year Macroeconomics in the previous semester performed significantly better in the Microeconomics examination. It was also found that the main reasons for not attending lectures are academically related, with the top reason being "busy studying for tests". Furthermore, students who regarded tutorials as a replacement for lectures significantly suffered nearly five marks lower in the examination.We recommend revisions to teaching methods and making lecture attendance compulsory and part of assessments. Furthermore, given lecture attendance is low, revisions to timetables should be considered and expanded transportation be made available to students. Lastly, students should be given the necessary time management tools to adjust to greater workloads at university.