OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Leibbrandt, Murray"

Browsing by Author "Leibbrandt, Murray"

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Open Access
A policy for the (jobless) youth: the employment tax incentive
(2021) Ebrahim, Amina; Leibbrandt, Murray; Ranchhod,Vimal; Pirttilä, Jukka
The Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) is a first of its kind wage subsidy policy in South Africa. Designed to tackle the problem of youth unemployment, the ETI differs from previous policies as it aims to address unemployment through stimulating job creation. Youth unemployment has remained above 40 percent in the past ten years and is one of South Africa's key challenges. The policy was adopted in the face of this alarmingly high level of youth unemployment and at a time where the aggregate demand was low. This thesis is an important contribution to the academic literature on the demand for young workers by providing insights into this large active labour market policy intervention. The first substantive contribution is the preparation and development of a panel dataset based on payroll tax records. The tax data panel is then used to investigate the beneficiaries of the subsidy. Large firms in retail; manufacturing and financial services sectors are responsible for the highest number and largest value of subsidy claims. The subsidy is well targeted reaching younger workers in the eligible group. The subsidy is, however, only reaching half of all subsidy eligible workers. The second contribution is the investigation of job creation at the firm level. Using a matched difference-in-differences approach, a subset of ETI firms is found to have increased their employment of youth and these results are robust to various measures of youth employment. No evidence of displacement of ineligible workers if found. The third contribution explores the labour market outcomes of individuals eligible for the subsidy. Using both tax and survey data, I estimate the intention-to-treat impacts of the ETI using a triple differences method. There are very small positive effects on earnings and entry into employment and no evidence of change on overall employment and unemployment rates for young, low-wage workers. The thesis concludes by assessing the aggregate implications from these results for understanding youth unemployment in the South African labour market and the role of active labour market policy in overcoming this problem.
Open Access
Adolescent econometricians : perceived earnings differentials and choice for tertiary education
(2008) Moyo, Alfred N F; Leibbrandt, Murray;
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-73).
Open Access
All jobs are equal, but some jobs are more equal than others: what a clustering algorithm reveals about the labour market segmentation in South Africa
(2021) Kensett, Jonathan Matthew; Ranchhod, Vimal; Leibbrandt, Murray
The theory of labour market segmentation is often used to explain wage inequality in South Africa. It posits that labour markets consist of different segments that are differentiated from other segments based on some observable characteristics. Limited mobility between these segments prevents wages from equalising. In this paper, I make use of a clustering algorithm to identify these informal and formal segments in the labour market. I apply this methodology to a nationally representative panel dataset of employed South Africans. I find that employed South Africans fall into one of three segments. Two of these segments resemble what is commonly referred to as formal and informal employment. The third segment lies somewhere between these two segments and is referred to as semiformal employment. Findings suggest that informally and semiformally employed individuals have s relatively lower chance of entering formal employment. Those in formal employment are much more likely to remain formally employed. It also appears that much of the churning observed in the labour market is between semiformal and informal employment, rather than between informal and formal employment. The identification of this group of semiformally employed labour market participants helps contributes to a more nuanced understanding of labour market dynamics in South Africa and highlights the value that data driven methodologies can provide to applied labour economic analysis.
Open Access
Analysing the role of language in the context of education, employment and income in South Africa
(2020) Kahn,Amy; Leibbrandt, Murray; Branson, Nicola
Although most of the South African population speak an African language as their home language, English remains the lingua franca and continues to dominate economic and political life. This thesis explores the role of language in the context of the labour market, the schooling system and survey data collection primarily using data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) survey. Firstly, I assess the impact of English proficiency among African home language speakers on employment probabilities and wages. After accounting for endogeneity and measurement error in the employment and wage models, I estimate that being proficient in English is associated with a 23-25 percentage point increase in the probability of employment, and a wage premium of 33 percent. These results contribute to the limited research on this topic in South Africa. Secondly, I explore the extent to which English and Afrikaans dominate as the Languages of Learning and Teaching (LoL T's) in the foundation phase of schools where a share of the learners speak an African language as their home language. Despite overwhelming evidence that mother-tongue instruction in the early years of schooling is superior pedagogically, parental preferences towards it remain low and I find that most schools in urban areas still choose to teach in English or Afrikaans. Mother-tongue instruction tends to occur in rural areas, or poorer urban communities, and where learners within a school come from relatively similar language backgrounds. Thus, when devising implementation plans to assist schools in adopting mother-tongue instruction, there may be a need for different strategies across different areas and schools. Finally, l investigate the role of language in determining the quality of the data that are used to investigate the phenomena in the first two sections. Through a multilevel analysis of the NIDS survey data, I find that when the interviewer and respondent are from the same language group, the respondent is more likely to participate in the survey. This is an important methodological finding as it implies that matching interviewers and respondents according to language may have a positive impact on survey response and hence the representativity of the data.
Open Access
The anatomy of public works : an exploration of the social protection function of public works programmes in contexts of chronic poverty
(2009) McCord, Anna Gabriele; Leibbrandt, Murray
This thesis critically explores the concept of the Public Works Programme (PWP) and interrogates the social protection performance of public works programmes (PWPs) in the context of chronic poverty, with a particular focus on the fundamental questions of programme incidence and impact. It reviews PWPs from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, using original qualitative and quantitative data drawn from a range of sources, including extensive field analysis and evaluations of PWPs in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa, interviews with the major multilaterals implementing PWPs and original survey work, designed, implemented and analysed by the author in South Africa to address the empirical issues arising from the current literature regarding PWP incidence and impact, as well as a literature review of over 200 PWPs implemented in east and southern Africa, detailed case studies of six international PWPs, and a review of both the social protection and public works literature.
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Asset-based versus money metric poverty indices in South Africa: An assessment using the chronic poverty research centre RSA 2002 survey
(CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Crosoer, David; Leibbrandt, Murray; Woolard, Ingrid
Open Access
Asset-based versus money metric poverty indices in South Africa: an assessment using the Chronic Poverty Research Centre RSA 2002 Survey
(2005) Crosoer, David; Leibbrandt, Murray; Woolard, Ingrid
Using data from a detailed chronic poverty survey of three South African communities, this paper compares the correlations between traditional (i.e. income and expenditure) and wealth-based measures of poverty in ranking households as poor as well as their ability to explain additional qualitative measures of persistent poverty such as household hunger. We find significant locational differences in terms of the composition of household wealth measures and this complicates the derivation of appropriate wealth indices. Traditional money-metric measures of poverty that abstract from location appear to explain short-term measures of deprivation like household hunger relatively well, and consistently capture the bottom and top deciles of the distribution. On their own wealth-based measures appear less suited to explaining household hunger, suggesting more liquid based measures for short-term indicators are more appropriate.
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Changes in education, employment and earnings in South Africa: A cohort analysis
(2015-05-28) Branson, Nicola; Ardington, Cally; Lam, David; Leibbrandt, Murray
Open Access
Child labour and school attendance: Evidence from selection on observed and unobserved variables in Zambia
(2010) Simumba, Joseph; Leibbrandt, Murray
Although the determinants of child labour and school attendance are well established in the literature, the causal effect of child labour on school attendance is largely unexplored owing in part to econometric challenges. The difficult in finding a valid and strong instrument for child labour, which is argued to be interdependent with school attendance, is one such impediment. Recognizing this difficult and the fact that children in child labour differ from their counterparts who are not in child labour along an array of observed and unobserved characteristics, I proceed along an alternative path in this paper. I examine the causal effect of long run child labour on children current school attendance using a novel estimation method that assumes that the amount of selection on observed variables closely approximates the amount of selection on unobservables. Using data for children between 5 and 17 years in Zambia, empirical results show that child labour has a significant negative effect on the probability of school attendance. The point estimate is also robust to unobserved variables. Results also show that children who participate in child labour are relatively older, hardly live with their mothers, mostly live in rural areas and are found in households were parents or household heads are relatively older and spent less time in school.
Open Access
Correlates of Vulnerability in the South African Labour Market
(1999-05) Bhorat, Haroon; Leibbrandt, Murray
Using the October Household Survey of 1995 (OHS95), this paper seeks to understand the determinants of indigence in the South African labour market. To this end the study presents a description of the labour market, focusing on how covariates such as race, gender, education and location help explain the poverty observed in the labour market.
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Credit 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
Open Access
The demand for health care services in Nigeria : a nested logit model
(2000) Ichoku, Hyacinth Ementa; Leibbrandt, Murray; Muheki, Charlotte W
The main aim of this study is to understand better the factors that influence the health care demand decisions of Nigerian households. The achievement of this objective involves the estimation of the parameters of the demand for health care services in order to understand the nature of health care choices that Nigerian households make under the present depressed economy. These demand parameter estimates are considered valuable inputs into health care policy. Yet, to date, there is neither sufficient information on the factors that shape households' utilization of health care services nor is there sufficient information on the relative importance of health care alternatives available to them. This is the knowledge gap this study helps to fill. Due to the dearth of data on the subject and the costs of collecting such data for the whole country, this study has been limited to a particular geographical area - Nsukka local government.
Open Access
Demand for healthcare services in Nigeria: a multivariate nested logit model
(Wiley, 2003) Ichoku, H Eme; Leibbrandt, Murray
The object of this paper is to explain the healthcare decision process and the factors that influence medicare demand decisions of Nigerian households during a period of economic depression. It is based on a sample from a small-area analysis focusing on a relatively homogenous group. The objective of the study involved the estimation of the parameters of the demand for healthcare services in order to understand the nature of healthcare choices and the pathways to those choices that Nigerian households make under dire economic circumstances. These demand parameter estimates are considered valuable inputs into healthcare policy. Yet, to date, there is no sufficient information on the vital factors that shape households' utilization of medicare services nor is there sufficient information on the relative importance of healthcare alternatives available to them. This is the knowledge gap that this study hopes to fill. The nested logit model was found to be an appropriate functional form for the analysis.
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Describing and decomposing post-apartheid income inequality in South Africa
(Development Southern Africa, 2015-05-28) Leibbrandt, Murray; Finn, Arden; Woolard, Ingrid
Open Access
Determinants of health in Nigeria : a case study of Nsukka L.G.A., Enugu state
(2001) Okorafor, Okore Apia; Rehnberg, Clas; Leibbrandt, Murray
The primary aim of this study is to identify the major determinants of health status in Nigeria. This is done with a view to inform policy making in the health sector. Because of time and financial constraints, the study was limited to a particular geographic area Nsukka L.G.A. The study makes use of regression-based analysis to determine those factors that affect health status of individuals. Health status was measured as a categorical variable with a finite number of outcomes; this necessitated the use of the logit and multinomial logit models for estimation of the models used in the study. The selection of potential health determining factors included in the study is based on international literature on the subject. The literature supporting the study cut across different disciplines, such as: Epidemiology, Social Sciences, Economics and Health economics. The study is unique in the sense that it not only takes into account the effect of individual and household choices on health status, but also the effects of government intervention. In this light, some of the variables used for the study measure the effect of individual choices, some household, and the rest, government policies. The study is organised in seven chapters. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the subject, an overview of Nigeria and the specific objectives of the study. Chapter 2 reviews international literature on 'determinants of health' and related subjects. The third chapter provides a detailed discussion on the development of the models used in the study and the problems associated with the measurement of health status. In addition to developing models to estimate health status, a model is developed to attempt to identify the factors that influence the incidence of water-borne diseases. Chapter 4 describes the data collection process, and the methods employed to achieve this. The fifth chapter provides descriptive statistics of the data collected from the sample site. The results of the models used for the study are presented in chapter 6. The results suggest that age, place of residence (urban or rural) and education for the younger members of the population have the most effect on health status of any individual within the sample location. Interestingly, the results show that increases in age and years of education for children aged 0 -18 years has a positive effect on their health, while an increase in age for those over 18 years of age has a negative effect on their health. Secondly, those who live in the rural areas are healthier than those who live in the urban areas. Also, the results show that people who get their drinking water from natural sources are more likely to suffer from a water-borne disease than those provided with potable drinking water. The results of the general models - to explain health status - also show that the government intervention had little or no impact on the health status of the people in the area. Chapter 7 reviews the past and current health policy thrust of the Nigerian health sector. The current health policy in Nigeria is very broad, and covers just about all the major health issues. The areas of priority in health are the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and the immunisation of infants/children. The results of this research suggest that the encouragement of enrolment of younger members of the population into schools, improvement of the living conditions in the urban areas and the provision of safe water to those people who depend on natural sources of water should be included as priority areas in policy-making in order to effect the efficient and effective improvement of the health status of the Nigerian population.
Open Access
The determinants of intra-regional trade in Southern Africa
(1999) Cassim, Rashad; Leibbrandt, Murray
This thesis is anchored in policy developments in the Southern African region, including the imminent conclusion of a Southern Africa free-trade agreement (FTA). The major question addressed in the thesis is whether trade integration is achievable and desirable. It does not take for granted that a FTA will automatically induce more trade in the region. The research focuses primarily on trade potential in Southern Africa but also attempts to define why growth in intra-regional trade is not an important objective in its own right. A major aim of this thesis is to quantify the factors that are likely to influence trade growth in Southern Africa. The thesis puts forward a case for more attention to be paid to fundamental structural factors that will determine the scope and success of any regional integration initiative. Various methodologies are employed including an applied review of theoretical work, an analysis and appraisal of current Southern African work and, finally, the estimation of a cross-sectional gravity model of trade. This estimation relies on Tobit maximum likelihood procedures, rather than standard OLS methods. The model uses various data sources, primarily from the IMF and the World Bank. The gravity model examines how the reduction of trade-transaction costs, the level of development and the size of an economy influences trade potential amongst countries. In the thesis, prominence is given to the interpretation of the model and its policy implications. A major finding is that fundamental structural and economic factors such as the transaction costs of trading, the growth paths of economies and changes in per capita income should be the focus of regional integration rather than trade policy in its own right. The empirical results show that intra-regional trade in SADC is not low by international standards. When compared to regions such as SACU or Mercusor, actual South African exports are higher than estimated potential exports. However, the model indicates low trade volumes for combinations of countries in the SADC region. In particular, there is increasing scope of non-SACU countries to increase their exports to South Africa.
Open Access
Determinants of job search strategies: evidence from the Khayelitsha/ Mitchell's Plan survey
(2006) Schöer, Volker; Leibbrandt, Murray
Over recent years, increasing attention has been paid to factors which determine the job search behaviour of the unemployed in South Africa. We provide a framework for analysing the choice of search strategies utilised by unemployed job searchers. Using a simple search model, we show that individual as well as household characteristics either constrain or facilitate the use of particular search methods. Our findings therefore illustrate that the job-seeker's choice of a particular search method is a compromise between what the job-seeker considers to be the most effective way to find job and what is actually a feasible method. This highlights the need to carefully reconsider the way in which we define and statistically evaluate the labour force participation of the South African unemployed.
Open Access
The determinants of off-farm employment and the impact of off-farm employment on food consumption in rural Ethiopia
(2010) Shifa, Mhbuba Ahmad; Leibbrandt, Murray
This study analyses the determinants of off-farm employment in rural Ethiopia using a representative sample farm households from four regions of the country. Very few previous regional case studies assess the impact of off-farm employment on household food consumption. To fill this gap the study goes on to examine the impact of participation in off-farm employment on household food consumption controlling for possible endogenous treatment selection bias.
Open Access
Dietary diversity and food security in South Africa: an application using NIDS Wave 1
(2016) Thornton, Amy Julia; Leibbrandt, Murray; Ardington, Cally
South 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.
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Distance as a barrier to health care access in South Africa
(2015-05-28) McLaren, Zoe; Ardington, Cally; Leibbrandt, Murray

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