Gendered trends in poverty in the post-apartheid period, 1997–2006

Posel, Dorrit; Rogan, Michael

doi:10.1080/0376835x.2012.645645

Cited by 70 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This study has demonstrated that the size, composition and economic profile of the middle class in South Africa are very different across these two broad definitions. Given extensive poverty and income inequality in South Africa (Hoogeveen & Ö zler, 2006;Leibbrandt et al, 2010;Posel & Rogan, 2012), individuals living in households which are 'middle of the road' in the national income distribution do not possess the socio-economic status typically associated with middleclass affluence.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Table 1 indicates that the 'middle tercile' definition has the widest income boundary for the middle class, with 4.56 million households falling within this income threshold. This includes some 1.19 million households that fall below a commonly adopted poverty line of R515 per capita per month in 2008 prices (see Hoogeveen & Ö zler, 2006;Leibbrandt et al, 2010;Posel & Rogan, 2012). The '50 to 150% median' definition uses a narrower range of income to identify households as middle class and also selects households which are generally poorer.…”

Section: The Middle Income Strata: a Relative Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A reconsideration of what and who is middle class in South Africa

Visagie¹,

Posel

2013

Development Southern Africa

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In this paper, we revisit 'what and who' is middle class in South Africa using data collected in the 2008 National Income Dynamics Study. First, we consider how to identify the middle class based on two broad definitions adopted in the international economics literature: a middle class defined by the middle share of the national income distribution; and a middle class defined by an absolute level of affluence and lifestyle. We explore alternative ways of capturing the 'middle income strata' and we suggest an approach for identifying threshold levels of income associated with middle-class affluence. Second, we show that the size and the composition of the middle class in South Africa are both very sensitive to how the middle class is defined. In particular, we demonstrate that there is very little overlap between the two broad definitions, a finding which reflects very high levels of poverty and inequality in the country.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Middle Income Strata: a Relative Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reconsideration of what and who is middle class in South Africa

Visagie¹,

Posel

2013

Development Southern Africa

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“…Poverty remains at the core of South Africa's developmental challenges, even though the country has been largely successful in reducing poverty, both in monetary terms and in multidimensional forms of deprivation (Posel & Rogan, 2012). Many measurement approaches consider poverty as a shortfall in resources, whether in income, consumption expenditures or a lack of essential goods.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The threshold effects of household indebtedness on multidimensional poverty

Ntsalaze

Ikhide

2017

IJSE

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DeclarationBy submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification.This dissertation includes two published and one accepted but not yet published original papers in peer-reviewed international journals. The fourth paper representing chapter eight is ready for submission for peer review. The development and writing of the papers (published and unpublished) were the principal responsibility of myself and, for each of the cases where this is not the case, a declaration is included in the dissertation indicating the nature and extent of the contributions of co-authors. AbstractGlobal household indebtedness has reached unprecedented levels over the past few decades.The household sector has had to cope with significant losses in income and wealth as well as the burden of debt service since the beginning of the financial crisis. Research focus on this phenomenon, together with its social implications, has grown. This study uses the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) data to empirically investigate the effects of household debt on multidimensional poverty. This was achieved through four independent research papers meant to address different angles of the subject. Chapter 5 provides a snapshot of the prevalence of over-indebtedness, using various international indicators and the National Credit Regulator (NCR) indicator, and describes which households are over-indebted. A total of eight percent of South African households are overindebted, and 61.4 percent of those households are found in the lowest income category (R0 -R2 000), spending more than 45 percent of their household income on debt repayments, which is beyond levels that are considered sustainable. The alarming revelation is that, according to the unsecured debt indicator, 15.2 percent of households are over-indebted, while 11 percent of households are driven below the relative income poverty line after making debt repayments. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za 3The racial distribution indicates that households headed by Africans are overrepresented (79%).Most over-indebted households are found amongst those who own their places of residence (78.6%), do not receive government grants (71.7%), are male (53.8%), and have an unemployed household head (53.5%).Chapter 6 examines the presence of thresholds in the debt-poverty nexus at micro level, i.e. the tipping point above which debt is associated with more multidimensional poverty. By applying the Generalised Additive Model (GAM) using regression splines, the study finds the existence of critical tipping points between household debt service-to-income ratio and multidimensional poverty along with other explanatory variables (age...

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“…Recent findings paint a dismal picture: there is a significant gender difference in unemployment (Okojie, 2003); the Gini coefficient is 0.58, making South Africa one of the most unequal countries in the world (Demombynes & Ö zler, 2005:267); approximately 57% of the population live below the poverty income line of US$2 per day (Agüero et al, 2007); labour force participation is gender-skewed, with the average rate being 34.2% for women and 52.1% for men; and the feminisation of poverty is becoming increasingly apparent (Shisana et al, 2010). According to Leibbrandt et al (2010) and Posel & Rogan (2012), poverty estimates are significantly and consistently higher for women (especially African women) than for men. The unemployment rate, 25.5% at the time of writing (Stats SA, 2011), is one of the highest in the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of gender on SME characteristics and access to debt finance in South Africa

Garwe

Fatoki

2012

Development Southern Africa

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This study aimed to determine whether South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are affected by gender differences in demand for debt and its availability. It also looked at whether there are gender differences in the firm and entrepreneurial characteristics of SMEs. The study was conducted by means of a survey using a self-administered questionnaire and statistical analyses that included descriptive statistics, a t-test and a logistic regression. Significant gender differences were found in SMEs' demand for debt finance but only insignificant differences in availability. The findings also revealed significant gender differences in some of the firm and entrepreneurial characteristics of SMEs. It appears that for SME owners in South Africa gender differences exist in the demand for debt finance but not in its availability. The policy recommendation is that commercial banks, government agencies and non-governmental organisations should aim to help and encourage female SME owners to apply for debt finance.

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Gendered trends in poverty in the post-apartheid period, 1997–2006

Cited by 70 publications

References 22 publications

A reconsideration of what and who is middle class in South Africa

A reconsideration of what and who is middle class in South Africa

The threshold effects of household indebtedness on multidimensional poverty

The impact of gender on SME characteristics and access to debt finance in South Africa

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