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The Effect of Household Characteristics on Poverty and Living Standards in South Africa

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  • Pushkar Maitra

    (Department of Economics, Monash University, Clayton Campus)

Abstract

This paper uses panel data from South Africa to examine the effect of household characteristics on poverty and living standards and how they have changed over the five years following the dismantling of apartheid. I estimate the standard of living using two alternative methodologies. First, I use probit analysis to examine the poverty status of the household. Second I use quantile regressions to examine the standard of living of the household at different points on the income distribution. The main measure of the standard of living is per adult equivalent household income, which adjusts household income by the scale and composition adjusted household size. The estimation results show that the sex of the household head, the education attainment of the household head, ethnicity and region of residence have significant effects on both the poverty status and standard of living of the household.

Suggested Citation

  • Pushkar Maitra, 2002. "The Effect of Household Characteristics on Poverty and Living Standards in South Africa," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 75-96, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:jed:journl:v:27:y:2002:i:1:p:75-96
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carter, Michael R. & May, Julian, 1999. "Poverty, livelihood and class in rural South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 1-20, January.
    2. Case, Anne & Deaton, Angus, 1998. "Large Cash Transfers to the Elderly in South Africa," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(450), pages 1330-1361, September.
    3. Anderson, Kathryn & Pomfret, Richard, 2000. "Living Standards during Transition to a Market Economy: The Kyrgyz Republic in 1993 and 1996," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 502-523, September.
    4. T. Paul Schultz & Germano Mwabu, 1998. "Wage Premia for Education and Location, By Gender and Race in South Africa," Working Papers 785, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    5. Mwabu, Germano & Schultz, T Paul, 1996. "Education Returns across Quantiles of the Wage Function: Alternative Explanations for Returns to Education by Race in South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 335-339, May.
    6. Handa, Sudhanshu, 1996. "Expenditure behavior and children's welfare: An analysis of female headed households in Jamaica," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 165-187, June.
    7. Ranjan Ray, 2000. "Poverty and expenditure pattern of households in Pakistan and South Africa: a comparative study," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 241-256.
    8. Maitra, Pushkar & Ray, Ranjan, 2003. "The effect of transfers on household expenditure patterns and poverty in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 23-49, June.
    9. repec:syd:wpaper:99-16 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Thomas, Duncan, 1996. "Education across Generations in South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 330-334, May.
    11. Dreze, Jean & Srinivasan, P. V., 1997. "Widowhood and poverty in rural India: Some inferences from household survey data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 217-234, December.
    12. repec:syd:wpaper:9916 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Stephan Klasen, 1997. "Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in South Africa: An Analysis of the 1993 SALDRU Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 51-94, July.
    14. Pushkar Maitra & Ranjan Ray, 2003. "Resource inflows and household composition: evidence from South African panel data," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(8), pages 1037-1047.
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