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What happened to multidimensional poverty in South Africa between 1993 and 2010?

Author

Listed:
  • Arden Finn

    (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town)

  • Murray Leibbrandt

    (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town)

  • Ingrid Woolard

    (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town)

Abstract

Gauging levels of welfare using data on income and expenditure is informative yet limited and can be enhanced by including non-money-metric measures. Nationally representative data sets from 1993 and 2010-2011 which cover a broad set of domains are used to calculate a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) for each year. This paper calculates these indices and uses them to assess trends in multidimensional poverty in South Africa over the post-apartheid period. From 1993 to 2010 MPI poverty fell by 29 percentage points from 37% to 8%. During this time period, the level of severe MPI poverty also dropped substantially from 17% of the population in 1993 to just over 1% in 2010. Not only did the incidence and intensity of multidimensional poverty fall significantly, but the average distance from the multidimensional poverty line across all dimensions also decreased over the period. These declines in multidimensional poverty are notably stronger than the estimated declines in money-metric poverty, which are also estimated and compared for the post-apartheid period.

Suggested Citation

  • Arden Finn & Murray Leibbrandt & Ingrid Woolard, 2013. "What happened to multidimensional poverty in South Africa between 1993 and 2010?," SALDRU Working Papers 099, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    • Handle: RePEc:ldr:wpaper:099
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Noble & Helen Barnes & Gemma Wright & Benjamin Roberts, 2010. "Small Area Indices of Multiple Deprivation in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 281-297, January.
    2. Murray Leibbrandt & Ingrid Woolard & Arden Finn & Jonathan Argent, 2010. "Trends in South African Income Distribution and Poverty since the Fall of Apartheid," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 101, OECD Publishing.
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    1. Facundo Alvaredo & A. B. Atkinson, 2022. "Top incomes in South Africa in the twentieth century," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 16(3), pages 477-546, September.
    2. Shinice Jackson & Derek Yu, 2023. "Re-examining the Multidimensional Poverty Index of South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 1-25, February.
    3. Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Benjamin Stanwix & Amy Thornton, 2021. "Measuring Multi‐Dimensional Labour Law Violation with an Application to South Africa," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 928-961, September.
    4. Atkinson, Tony & Alvaredo, Facundo, 2016. "Top Incomes in South Africa Over a Century," INET Oxford Working Papers 2016-06, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    5. Morné Oosthuizen, 2019. "Inequality and the generational economy: Race-disaggregated National Transfer Accounts for South Africa, 2015," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-24, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Ronelle Burger & Servaas Berg & Sarel Walt & Derek Yu, 2017. "The Long Walk: Considering the Enduring Spatial and Racial Dimensions of Deprivation Two Decades After the Fall of Apartheid," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 1101-1123, February.
    7. Tina Fransman & Derek Yu, 2018. "Multidimensional poverty in South Africa in 2001-2016," Working Papers 07/2018, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    8. Megbowon Ebenezer Toyin, 2018. "Multidimensional Poverty Analysis of Urban and Rural Households in South Africa," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 63(1), pages 3-19, April.
    9. Mohd Nayyer Rahman & Nida Rahman & Abdul Turay & Munir Hassan, 2022. "Do Trade and Poverty Cause Each Other? Evidence from BRICS," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 14(1), pages 9-31, January.
    10. Carlos Sakyi‐Nyarko & Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher J. Green, 2022. "Investigating the well‐being implications of mobile money access and usage from a multidimensional perspective," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 985-1009, May.
    11. Lungile Ntsalaze & Sylvanus Ikhide, 2018. "Rethinking Dimensions: The South African Multidimensional Poverty Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 195-213, January.
    12. Finn, Arden & Leibbrandt, Murray & Oosthuizen, Morne, 2014. "Poverty, inequality, and prices in post-apartheid South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 127, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. Marisa von Fintel, 2021. "Chronic Child Poverty and Health Outcomes in South Africa Using a Multidimensional Poverty Measure," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(4), pages 1571-1596, August.
    14. Kehinde O. Omotoso & Steven F. Koch, 2017. "Exploring Child Poverty and Inequality in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Multidimensional Perspective," Working Papers 201718, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    15. Johan Fourie, 2016. "The long walk to economic freedom after apartheid, and the road ahead," Working Papers 11/2016, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    16. Igei, Kengo, 2017. "Untangling Disability and Poverty: A Matching Approach Using Large-scale Data in South Africa," Working Papers 142, JICA Research Institute.
    17. Ronelle Burger & Marisa Coetzee & Carina van der Watt, 2013. "Estimating the benefits of linking ties in a deeply divided society: considering the relationship between domestic workers and their employers in South Africa," Working Papers 18/2013, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.

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