Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveys
South Africa faces persistent challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Recently, there has been growing literature trying to effectively address such challenges as the livelihood strategies of the poor need to be adequately understood. This article studied the livelihood strategies and di...
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doaj-c0cc97517efc4e17aec3875d18f80bd12020-11-25T03:15:25ZengAOSISThe Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa1817-44342415-20052020-05-01161e1e1310.4102/td.v16i1.726441Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveysSyden Mishi0Zintle Sikhunyana1Nomasomi Ngonyama2Kin Sibanda3Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Port ElizabethDepartment of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Port ElizabethDepartment of Economics, Faculty of Management and Commerce, University of Fort Hare, AliceDepartment of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Port ElizabethSouth Africa faces persistent challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Recently, there has been growing literature trying to effectively address such challenges as the livelihood strategies of the poor need to be adequately understood. This article studied the livelihood strategies and diversification among the poor in South Africa using two data sets, namely the Statistics South Africa General Household Survey 2016 (GHS) and the Programme to Support Pro-poor Policy Development (PSPPD II)-University of Fort Hare (UFH) Economics survey. The study measured welfare using per capita income standardised by the adult equivalence scale (AES) which accounts for intra-household variations in members’ access to household’s resources and therefore corrects for economies of scale. Logistic regression techniques were employed to test the stated hypotheses. The GHS 2016-based results are in line with the sustainable livelihood framework, which posits that households need access to different sets of assets to sustain livelihoods. In this context, access to different assets has been shown to increase the probability of engaging in high-value strategies that will ensure sustainability of livelihoods. The PSPPD-UFH Economics data collaborate GHS-based results, showing that assets’ access deprivation increases the odds of relying on non-labour income (like social grants) than engaging in high-value strategy (no farming income). Male-headed households and those with greater access to financial capital are more diversified.https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/726povertyadult equivalence scaletransfer incomevulnerabilityfarming. |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Syden Mishi Zintle Sikhunyana Nomasomi Ngonyama Kin Sibanda |
spellingShingle |
Syden Mishi Zintle Sikhunyana Nomasomi Ngonyama Kin Sibanda Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveys The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa poverty adult equivalence scale transfer income vulnerability farming. |
author_facet |
Syden Mishi Zintle Sikhunyana Nomasomi Ngonyama Kin Sibanda |
author_sort |
Syden Mishi |
title |
Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveys |
title_short |
Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveys |
title_full |
Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveys |
title_fullStr |
Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveys |
title_full_unstemmed |
Livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: Evidence from South African household surveys |
title_sort |
livelihood strategies and diversification amongst the poor: evidence from south african household surveys |
publisher |
AOSIS |
series |
The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa |
issn |
1817-4434 2415-2005 |
publishDate |
2020-05-01 |
description |
South Africa faces persistent challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Recently, there has been growing literature trying to effectively address such challenges as the livelihood strategies of the poor need to be adequately understood. This article studied the livelihood strategies and diversification among the poor in South Africa using two data sets, namely the Statistics South Africa General Household Survey 2016 (GHS) and the Programme to Support Pro-poor Policy Development (PSPPD II)-University of Fort Hare (UFH) Economics survey. The study measured welfare using per capita income standardised by the adult equivalence scale (AES) which accounts for intra-household variations in members’ access to household’s resources and therefore corrects for economies of scale. Logistic regression techniques were employed to test the stated hypotheses. The GHS 2016-based results are in line with the sustainable livelihood framework, which posits that households need access to different sets of assets to sustain livelihoods. In this context, access to different assets has been shown to increase the probability of engaging in high-value strategies that will ensure sustainability of livelihoods. The PSPPD-UFH Economics data collaborate GHS-based results, showing that assets’ access deprivation increases the odds of relying on non-labour income (like social grants) than engaging in high-value strategy (no farming income). Male-headed households and those with greater access to financial capital are more diversified. |
topic |
poverty adult equivalence scale transfer income vulnerability farming. |
url |
https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/726 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT sydenmishi livelihoodstrategiesanddiversificationamongstthepoorevidencefromsouthafricanhouseholdsurveys AT zintlesikhunyana livelihoodstrategiesanddiversificationamongstthepoorevidencefromsouthafricanhouseholdsurveys AT nomasomingonyama livelihoodstrategiesanddiversificationamongstthepoorevidencefromsouthafricanhouseholdsurveys AT kinsibanda livelihoodstrategiesanddiversificationamongstthepoorevidencefromsouthafricanhouseholdsurveys |
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