Poverty, social mobility, and the middle class: The case of South Africa

Abstract

First and foremost, I am grateful to my first supervisor, Jann Lay, for his guidance, confidence, and encouragement, for his creativity and enthusiasm in developing new research ideas, and his continuous support and academic advice. I also thank my second supervisor,Stephan Klasen, for excellent thesis supervision and many helpful comments, suggestions, and discussions through the learning process of this dissertation. It would have been impossible to conduct this research without the help and contributions of a large number of colleagues. Nevertheless, two key collaborators stand out as having played a major role in the development of this thesis. My sincere thanks goes to professor Murray Leibbrandt, who gave me the opportunity to join his research team at the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) and who continuously encouraged my work and provided valuable guidance and expertise. A very special gratitude further goes to Rocco Zizzamia for his wonderful collaboration. His input has been indispensable throughout the time of research and writing of this thesis -both as a research partner and as a friend. This thesis has been elaborated at the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, which offered me an inspiring study and research environment. I am particularly grateful to all members of the Institute of African Affairs (IAA), the Research Programme 3 ("Growth and Development") and the GIGA Doctoral Programme for many helpful comments and suggestions. I am also indebted to all members of the "Globalization and Development" research training group at the University of Göttingen, who provided valuable comments and feedback on earlier revisions of the articles included in this dissertation. This thesis would not have been possible without the generous financial support received from the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst. The provided doctoral studies grant enabled me to focus on my research by supporting me financially, for which I am extremely thankful.Last but by far not the least important, I owe more than thanks to my mother, my partner, and my friends for their support and encouragement during my doctoral studies and beyond.Thank you for trusting me in pursuing my own path.