Browsing by Author "Ardington, Cally"
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- ItemMetadata onlyChanges in education, employment and earnings in South Africa: A cohort analysis(2015-05-28) Branson, Nicola; Ardington, Cally; Lam, David; Leibbrandt, Murray
- ItemMetadata onlyCredit constraints and the racial gap in post-secondary education in South Africa(Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, 2015-05-28) Lam, David; Ardington, Cally; Branson, Nicola; Leibbrandt, Murray
- ItemOpen AccessDietary diversity and food security in South Africa: an application using NIDS Wave 1(2016) Thornton, Amy Julia; Leibbrandt, Murray; Ardington, CallySouth Africa is food secure at the national level; however widespread food insecurity persists at the household level. To understand the dynamics of micro-level food insecurity this dissertation investigates how two different aspects of 'food access' - diet quality and diet quantity - affect two outcomes of 'food utilisation' - hunger and nutrition. Diet quantity is captured by food expenditure in Wave 1 of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS). To capture diet quality I use dietary diversity, which is not directly available in NIDS. I build and test a food group dietary diversity score and a food variety dietary diversity score using NIDS Wave 1. Both dietary diversity indicators are found to usefully summarise information about food security in South Africa by using methods found in the dietary diversity literature. The dissertation then turns to testing whether the theoretical differences between diet quality and quantity play out empirically in the case of nutrition (adult BMI) and hunger (self-reported household hunger). The results reveal that food variety and food quantity are complementary in explaining the chance of household hunger, with food quantity having a slightly more important effect. The pathways to BMI differ by gender. Dietary diversity and food expenditure are substitutes in the case of male BMI; however, food variety and food expenditure are complementary to explaining female BMI when food expenditure enters into the model as a quadratic. Overall, food variety proved to be a stronger and more significant correlate of both outcomes than the food group dietary diversity score.
- ItemMetadata onlyDistance as a barrier to health care access in South Africa(2015-05-28) McLaren, Zoe; Ardington, Cally; Leibbrandt, Murray
- ItemOpen AccessDistance decay and persistent health care disparities in South Africa(2014-11-04) McLaren, Zoë M; Ardington, Cally; Leibbrandt, MurrayAbstract Background Access to health care is a particular concern given the important role of poor access in perpetuating poverty and inequality. South Africa’s apartheid history leaves large racial disparities in access despite post-apartheid health policy to increase the number of health facilities, even in remote rural areas. However, even when health services are provided free of charge, monetary and time costs of travel to a local clinic may pose a significant barrier for vulnerable segments of the population, leading to overall poorer health. Methods Using newly available health care utilization data from the first nationally representative panel survey in South Africa, together with administrative geographic data from the Department of Health, we use graphical and multivariate regression analysis to investigate the role of distance to the nearest facility on the likelihood of having a health consultation or an attended birth. Results Ninety percent of South Africans live within 7 km of the nearest public clinic, and two-thirds live less than 2 km away. However, 14% of Black African adults live more than 5 km from the nearest facility, compared to only 4% of Whites, and they are 16 percentage points less likely to report a recent health consultation (p < 0.01) and 47 percentage points less likely to use private facilities (p < 0.01). Respondents in the poorest income quintiles live 0.5 to 0.75 km further from the nearest health facility (p < 0.01). Racial differentials in the likelihood of having a health consultation or an attended birth persist even after controlling for confounders. Conclusions Our results have two policy implications: minimizing the distance that poor South Africans must travel to obtain health care and improving the quality of care provided in poorer areas will reduce inequality. Much has been done to redress disparities in South Africa since the end of apartheid but progress is still needed to achieve equity in health care access.
- ItemMetadata onlyEarly childbearing, human capital attainment and mortality risk(Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, 2015-05-28) Ardington, Cally; Menendez, Alicia; Mutevedzi, Tinofa
- ItemMetadata onlyEmployment status, security, and the management of risk: a study of workers in Kwamsane, KwaZulu-Natal(Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, 2015-05-28) Lund, Francis; Ardington, Cally
- ItemOpen AccessEssays in economics of education: free primary education, birth order and human capital development in Lesotho(2015) Moshoeshoe, Ramaele Elias; Ardington, Cally; Piraino, PatrizioGiven the low levels of educational standards in the developing world, the World Education Forum adopted the Dakar Framework for Action (DFA) in 2000, calling for quality 'Education for All' children of school-going age. Heeding to this call, many sub-Saharan African countries instituted Free Primary Education (FPE) policies. Lesotho instituted the FPE programme in 2000 on a grade-by-grade basis; first abolishing school fees in grade one, and then in successive higher grades each following year. This thesis consists of a short introductory chapter, three self-contained analytical chapters which empirically evaluate the importance of the FPE policy and family factors on education in Lesotho, and the summary chapter. It first examines the effect of the FPE policy on primary school enrolment in Chapter 2 using household level data for before and after the policy. A difference-in-differences strategy is employed to tease out the FPE effect. This exploits the variations in enrolment rates over time and across grade-groups (i.e. grades covered versus those not-yet covered) created by the implementation strategy of the programme. The findings demonstrate that the policy significantly increased enrolment of primary school-age children by at least 9.3 percentage points (or 13.2 percent). There is also evidence that this policy disproportionately raised enrolment levels of children from poor households and that of boys (the historically disadvantaged group), thereby bridging the gender- and wealth-related educational (enrolment) inequalities. In Chapter 3, the thesis draws on grade six pupils' standardised maths and (English) reading test scores from 2000 and 2007 to analyse changes in educational achievement and educational inequality, and the determinants of such changes. The analysis of the data shows that educational achievement increased significantly for both low- and high-ability pupils over the period of analysis. Nonetheless, this increase in achievement was accompanied by a significant rise in educational inequality, especially in reading test scores. The analysis further shows that these changes are statistically related to policy measures taken under the FPE programme. In particular, the results show that pupil-teacher ratio is negatively correlated with changes in reading performance of low-ability pupils, while teacher effort (i.e. subject-testing frequency and teaching hours per week) and grade repetition have a positive influence on changes in educational achievement. These results suggest that the fall in pupil teacher ratio between 2000 and 2007 has helped increase educational achievement. The analysis, however, reveals that much of the increase in educational achievement and educational inequality is unexplained by both school and pupils' family characteristics, which suggests that there could be other unobserved family and school factors that influence achievement and inequality. Therefore, in Chapter 4 of the thesis I shift focus from FPE policy effects and look at the impact of family factors on human capital accumulation. Specifically, Chapter 4 examines the effect of a child's order of birth on human capital development (i.e. enrolment, educational attainment, and schooling progression) using family-fixed effects models. Birth order has received much attention in the economics and psychology literature. Contrary to much of the evidence from developing countries, I find that birth order has a strong negative effect on human capital development. These birth order effects are pronounced in large families, and families with first-born girls, thereby revealing the strong girls' education preferences in Lesotho. Turning to potential pathways of these effects, I find that birth order effects are not propagated through family wealth, but mainly though birth- (or child-) spacing. These results suggest that there are some intra-household inefficiencies that could explain the changes in educational achievement and inequality.
- ItemMetadata onlyFertility and mother's labour market behaviour: Evidence from the 2011 South African Census(2017-06-06) Ardington, Cally; Lam, David; Leibbrandt, Murray; Menendez, Alicia
- ItemMetadata onlyFinancial services and the informal economy(CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Ardington, Cally; Leibbrandt, Murray
- ItemMetadata onlyHealth outcomes for children born to teen mothers in Cape Town, South Africa(Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, ) Branson, Nicola; Ardington, Cally; Leibbrandt, Murray
- ItemMetadata onlyHealth seeking behaviour in northern KwaZulu-Natal(CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Case, Anne; Menendez, Alicia; Ardington, Cally
- ItemMetadata onlyHealth, Health Seeking Behavior, and Health Care(2017-06-06) Ardington, Cally; Case, Anne
- ItemMetadata onlyHealth: Analysis of the NIDS Wave 1 Dataset(2017-06-06) Ardington, Cally; Case, Anne
- ItemMetadata onlyHealth: Analysis of the NIDS Wave 1 and 2 Datasets(Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, 2015-05-28) Ardington, Cally; Gasealahwe, Boingotlo
- ItemOpen AccessHow does the process of educational attainment differ between Africans and Coloureds in the Western Cape?(2011) Hofmeyr, Clare; Leibbrandt, Murray; Ardington, CallyMore than a decade after the end of apartheid, inequality along racial lines is widely apparent. While the greatest disparity exists between Whites and non-Whites, inequality also persists among non-Whites. With reference to the youth of the Western Cape, Coloureds have higher per capita household income, more educated parents, superior schooling inputs and improved performance on achievement tests in comparison to Africans. The finding that Coloureds have only a slightly higher matriculation rate and a statistically equivalent enrolment rate leads one to ask whether the races face different influences on their process of educational attainment. Using individual and household data from the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS), matriculation and enrolment (conditional on matriculation) are modeled for Africans and Coloureds separately.
- ItemMetadata onlyHow the old age pension is helping young people from rural areas find jobs(Econ3x3, ) Ardington, Cally; Hofmeyr, Clare
- ItemOpen AccessImpact evaluation of Funda Wande in-service teacher coaching intervention: Findings from the first year(2021) Meiring, Christiaan; Ardington, Cally; Leibbrandt, MurrayAcknowledging the limited opportunities for South African teachers to acquire specialized knowledge in teaching reading, particularly in African Languages, the Non-Governmental Organisation Funda Wande is providing an integrated package of support to train Foundation Phase literacy teachers in how to teach reading for meaning in African languages. The pilot intervention evaluated here takes place in three urban schooling districts in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. The intervention is implemented in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE). The Funda Wande in-service training model builds on international best practice and lessons learnt from domestic iterations of integrated teacher training and support models, prominently amongst which are the Department of Basic Education (DBE)-led Early Grade Reading (EGRS) studies Funda Wande provides a bouquet of home language print resources to learners and classrooms. Teachers also receive an integrated package of curriculum aligned lesson plans, assessment booklets and online pedagogic resources. In-classroom teacher coaching provides support, monitoring and feedback for teachers on how to implement new teaching techniques and make use of materials. The Funda Wande course trains teachers and their Heads of Department (HODs) on how to teach reading for meaning in African languages. The course content provides teachers with knowledge on the morphology of African languages and how learners learn to read in them, whilst supporting materials and in-person coaching equips teachers to implement the instructional techniques in practice. The primary aim of the evaluation is to assess whether the Funda Wande intervention is effective in changing teacher's instructional behaviour and improving early reading outcomes. More specifically, the programme's is evaluated with reference to its self-stated goal: that all learners should be able to read for meaning in their home language by the end of Grade 3. The specific reading outcomes assessed are grade relevant foundational reading and reading comprehension skills. A randomized control trial (RCT) is used to estimate the causal impact of the programme on early literacy outcomes with schools randomized into one of two arms – Funda Wande and control – in three urban and peri-urban education districts. All schools in the evaluation are no fee public schools with an isiXhosa language of learning and teaching. After one year of programme exposure, the intervention impact on the treated group of Grade 1 and 2 learners' reading proficiency is 0.17 standard deviations. Translated into the amount of learning that took place in comparison schools, or ‘business as usual' learning environments, this effect equals between 20 to 27 percent of a year's worth of learning for Grade 2 learners and 33 to 58 percent of a year's learning for Grade 1 learners. Dependent on the outcome measure used, the programme impacts therefore range roughly between one and two terms of learning in comparison status quo classrooms. The programme effects are positive across all the sub-domains of reading proficiency that could be measured reliably. For Grade 1 learners, intervention impacts were the largest on foundational decoding skills - correctly identifying letter sounds and being able to manipulate phonemes. At this early stage of Grade 1 leaners' development trajectories, these are the skills that are required to decode words, read more fluently and eventually progress to reading for meaning. The impacts on downstream higher order reading comprehension skills are only detectable for Grade 2 learners. Consistent with other results from the recent literature, these findings support the idea that learners require a range of foundational literacy abilities before they can read with some level of fluency. In turn, learners need to read with a certain minimum level of speed and accuracy in order to comprehend what they are reading. A particularly encouraging finding from a policy perspective is that the intervention has fairly consistent positive impacts for learners across the distribution of baseline reading proficiency. Programme impacts also do not vary with of learners' relative rank for reading proficiency within their classrooms. Previous research suggests that improving reading outcomes for learners with the lowest levels of foundational reading skills in an absolute sense is particularly challenging. A related finding is suggestive evidence that the programme helps boys in treatment schools catch up with their generally more proficient girl counterparts, but only in Grade 2 and with the extent of catch-up contingent on the boys' baseline levels of reading proficiency. At this stage only suggestive results are presented for the potential mechanisms at play. Evidence across more than one indicator suggests that teachers in intervention schools are more likely to a) be more attuned to the actual reading proficiency levels of the learners in their class (both in terms of whether learners are at the top or the bottom of the distribution and how the class performs overall); b) to make use of graded readers - which were provided equivalently to both treatment and control schools - more frequently; and (c) to use instructional techniques that have previously shown to facilitate more individualised forms of learner reading practice and -teacher feedback. Future rounds of assessments and in-depth qualitative classroom observations will delve deeper into both the potential mechanisms at play, as well as the potential characteristics of the Funda Wande intervention that result in it being effective in shifting learning outcomes for leaners across the distribution of reading proficiency levels (and for learners with the lowest levels of reading proficiency in particular). Other unanswered question at this stage relate to the details that would allow one to compare the absolute- and cost-effectiveness of the programme to similar interventions in the literature. The results here add to the growing body of evidence that makes a strong case for the crucial complementary role of high-quality teacher coaching and continuous follow-up support in programmes that focus on shifting teachers' instructional practice. Consistent with the results from similar interventions in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, the Funda Wande intervention improves learning outcomes through combining material provision, a structured sequence of lessons, alignment around some central curriculum, and supporting teachers in “learning by doing” through teacher professional development support.
- ItemMetadata onlyLabor supply responses to large social transfers: Longitudinal evidence from South Africa(Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, 2015-05-28) Ardington, Cally; Case, Anne; Hosegood, Victoria
- ItemMetadata onlyMore financial aid is not the best way to close the racial gap in tertiary education(Econ3x3.org, 2015-05-28) Lam, David; Ardington, Cally; Branson, Nicola; Leibbrandt, Murray