Browsing by Author "Daniels, Reza"

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    Consumer Indebtedness Among Urban South African Households: A Descriptive Overview
    (2001-09) Daniels, Reza
    This working paper analyses consumer indebtedness among urban South African households. The theoretical basis of the topic lies within consumption theory, and the empirical exercises are conducted on Part Two of the October Household Survey - the Income and Expenditure Survey (Statistics South Africa, 1995) and an adjusted 1999 dataset constructed by Wefa Southern Africa.
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    Determinants of wealth in South Africa
    (2015) Augustine, Taryn Jade; Daniels, Reza
    This paper investigates the determinants of household wealth in South Africa, using the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Wave 2. In particular, we look at the effect s of the wealth-age profile and other household demographic variables. The hump-shaped profile of the wealth and age relationship suggested by the life-cycle hypothesis is not present in the data, although there are indications of its presence in the upper quantiles of the wealth distribution. The South African wealth distribution does not conform to the Lifecycle Hypothesis at this point in time. The LCH model appears to apply only to particular quantiles of the population, that is, the wealthier households and the particularly indebted households. In particular, the results found these to be households with younger heads, which align with LCH predictions. Poorer households, or those whose assets and liabilities are approximately equal do not appear to accumulate wealth in the same manner as their upper and lower quantile counterparts. However, we cannot formally identify the LCH econometrically at a particular quantile. We found evidence of different wealth accumulation behaviour in Tribal Authority Areas, where a dual land tenure ownership structure is in place. This has important implications for researchers interested in components of wealth, such as income, saving, assets and liabilities.
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    Exploring the relationship between obesity and the probability of gaining employment in the context of the South African labour market
    (2022) von Widdern, Chloe; Daniels, Reza
    Obesity is a growing public health concern that is being confronted by both developed and developing countries. South Africa is no exception, facing the highest burden of obesity amongst African countries. Using two waves of data from the National Income Dynamics Study, this study aims to investigate the relationship between obesity and employment status for working age individuals in the context of the South African labour market. This study contributes to existing literature on this subject by explicitly accounting for potential simultaneity and endogeneity between obesity and employment. Given the hypothesised two-way causal relationship between obesity and unemployment, two different models are used to assess whether this issue exists for the dataset; a bivariate probit model to assess if there is a bivariate relationship between obesity and employment, and a recursive bivariate probit model to assess if obesity is an endogenous regressor of employment. A change in state univariate probit model is then implemented across the two waves to better understand if fluctuations in weight status are a result of labour market state transitions. The results of the study show that obesity and employment are independent in the bivariate probit models and obesity is an exogenous regressor of employment status in the recursive bivariate probit models. Changes in labour market state do not have a significant impact on the probability of transitioning to obese compared to no changes in labour market state, bar transitioning from not economically active to employed, which increases the probability of becoming obese. The findings suggest that, in the South African labour market context, obesity and employment are not related, indicating that there are other underlying factors, such as nutritional intake and genetic composition, that may contribute to fluctuations in weight status. The results suggest that obesity is prolific in South Africa, and impacts individuals across the entire distribution for labour market status and income.
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    gpsbound: Routine for importing and verifying geographical information from a user provided shapefile
    (2015-05-28) Brophy, Tim; Daniels, Reza; Musundwa, Sibongile
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    Poverty Alleviation in the Subsistence Fisheries Sector: A Microeconometric Analysis
    (2001-03) Daniels, Reza
    This working paper applies the Foster Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) (1984) index of poverty measures to the subsistence fishing industry in South Africa in order to evaluate the impact of resource transfers on poverty. The sample of subsistence communities was identified by the Chief Directorate: Marine and Coastal Management of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
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    Public Opinion concerning the Feasibility of South Africa meeting its greenhouse gas emission targets
    (2023) Davids, Zahraa; Daniels, Reza
    Climate change and global warming are measurable realities. Developing countries like South Africa are more vulnerable to their impacts due to the country's socio-economic background. The Paris Agreement was adopted to limit the rise of global mean temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. However, with current policy projections and the absence of efficacious mitigation efforts, global temperatures are expected to surpass critical thresholds required for effective climate change management. Thus, achieving lower temperatures would require more ambitious mitigation efforts. The methodology utilized in this dissertation employs a non- random survey of expert opinions on the topic of the feasibility of South Africa meeting its greenhouse gas emission targets. A snowball sampling method was utilized to identify suitable respondents to the survey. The survey reveals about 53% of participants believe that the feasibility of South Africa meeting its emission reduction target by 2030 is quite improbable due to the country's dependence on the coal industry. Participants have expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the country's current carbon tax. They believe it may not lead to the necessary level of emission reductions or foster long-term compliance, primarily due to high tax exemptions and the low level of the carbon tax. Participants argue that enhancing South Africa's mitigation policies should include several mitigation instruments to catalyse emission reduction efforts and facilitate a renewable energy transition which should be done in a just manner. The study shows that expert opinion research could be beneficial for policymakers in advancing climate action. However, achieving this would depend on cooperation and collaboration among a wide array of stakeholders.
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    Skills Shortages in South Africa: A Literature Review
    (2007-05) Daniels, Reza
    This paper conducts a review of the literature on skills shortages in South Africa. It is demonstrated that different Government departments have different views concerning the definition of skills shortages. This is largely due to the omission in any official government literature of tying the concept of 'skills shortages' to productivity.
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    Skills Shortages in South Africa: Key Issues
    (2007-11) Daniels, Reza
    This Policy Brief was compiled based on the DPRU Working Paper 07/121, Skills Shortages in South Africa: A Literature Review researched by Reza Daniels. The paper was prepared as a report for the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA).
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    Using panel data to estimate the returns to schooling in South Africa
    (2015) Miles, Caitlin Rose; Daniels, Reza
    Returns to schooling have typically been estimated with cross-sectional data. However, these studies are fraught with difficulties arising from the endogeneity of education. Individual effects that cannot be measured, such as ability and family background, cause bias in the estimates because they are correlated with education. A panel data approach is thus potentially superior to a cross-sectional one, in that it allows the individual effects to be eliminated with time-differencing. However, time-invariant regressors, such as education, cannot be identified under these time-differencing techniques. This paper therefore uses a Generalized Instrumental Variables method that was developed by Hausman and Taylor (1981) to estimate returns to schooling under a panel data context. This approach both controls for endogeneity bias and allows the identification of time-constant regressors, in this case, education. The re- turns to schooling under this estimation method are approximately 21% for South African individuals who are consistently employed from 2008-2013.