Browsing by Author "Poswell, Laura"
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- ItemOpen AccessConvexities and the returns to education in South Africa(2003) Poswell, Laura; Keswell, MalcomThis paper explores the rate of return to education in South Africa with special focus on the pattern of returns to different levels of schooling. Although a basic assumption of neoclassical human capital theory is that returns to education diminish, past analysis for South Africa suggests that returns are more likely to be convex. Estimates, however, are based on widely differing data and estimation methods so that only tentative conclusions can be drawn. In this paper we undertake a rigorous econometric exercise in which the same parametric and semi-parametric techniques are applied to a number of nationally representative datasets so that the results can be effectively compared.
- ItemOpen AccessEconomists versus the Street: Comparative Viewpoints on Barriers to Self-employment in Khayelitsha, South Africa(2011-12) Cichello, Paul; Mncube, Liberty; Oosthuizen, Morne; Poswell, LauraWhat prevents the unemployed in Khayelitsha, South Africa from trying self-employment? Perceptions of a small group of academic economists are presented and compared to the perceptions of unemployed Khayelitsha residents themselves.
- ItemOpen AccessHow important is education for getting ahead in South Africa?(2002) Keswell, Malcolm; Poswell, LauraThe impact of education on the process of development relies crucially on what can be assumed about the way it is rewarded. Standard human capital theory assumes diminishing marginal returns to education. The purpose of this paper is to examine the empirical relevance of this assumption. We find that the standard approach to estimating this relation is not well supported by virtually all of the available evidence for South Africa. Indeed, the marginal rate of return to education is extremely high for tertiary levels of education and small (approaching zero) for lower levels of education. If human capital accumulation is an important determinant of wealth accumulation, this implies that educational reforms in the form of small policy interventions will not have any significant impact on the distribution of income and wealth, as long as key features of labour markets that govern the manner in which education is rewarded, remains unaltered.
- ItemOpen AccessMeasuring recent Changes in South African Inequality and Poverty using 1996 and 2001 Census Data(2005-06) Leibbrandt, Murray; Poswell, Laura; Naidoo, Pranushka; Welch, Matthew; Woolard, IngridThe paper analyses poverty and inequality changes in South Africa for the period 1996 to 2001 using Census data. As regards population group inequality, within-group inequality has increased; while between-group inequality has decreased (inequality has also increased in each province and across the rural/urban divide).
- ItemOpen AccessMeasuring recent changes in South African inequality and poverty using 1996 and 2001 census data(2004) Leibbrandt, Murray; Naidoo, Pranushka; Poswell, Laura; Welch, Matthew; Woolard, IngridThe paper analyses poverty and inequality changes in South Africa for the period 1996 to 2001 using Census data. To gain a broader picture of wellbeing in South Africa, both income-based and access-based measurement approaches are employed. At the national level, findings from the income-based approach show that inequality has unambiguously increased from 1996 to 2001. As regards population group inequality, within-group inequality has increased; while between-group inequality has decreased (inequality has also increased in each province and across the rural/urban divide). The poverty analysis reveals that poverty has worsened in the nation, particularly for Africans. Provincially, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo have the highest poverty rates while the Western Cape and Gauteng have the lowest poverty rates. Poverty differs across the urban-rural divide with rural areas being relatively worse off than urban areas. However, due to the large extent of rural-urban migration, the proportion of the poor in rural areas is declining. The access-based approach focuses on type of dwelling, access to water, energy for lighting, energy for cooking, sanitation and refuse removal. The data reveal significant improvements in these access measures between 1996 and 2001. The proportion of households occupying traditional dwellings has decreased while the proportion of households occupying formal dwellings has risen slightly (approximately two-thirds of households occupy formal dwellings). Access to basic services has improved, especially with regard to access to electricity for lighting and access to telephones. On a provincial level, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape display the poorest performance in terms of access to basic services. The paper concludes by contrasting the measured changes in well being that emerge from the income and access approaches. While income measures show worsening well being via increases in income poverty and inequality, access measures show that well being in South Africa has improved in a number of important dimensions.
- ItemMetadata onlyMeasuring recent changes in South African inequality and poverty using 1996 and 2001 census data(CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Leibbrandt, Murray; Poswell, Laura; Naidoo, Pranushka; Welch, Matthew; Woolard, Ingrid