Browsing by Author "Blaauw, Phillip F."

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    Skills-related underemployment amongst South Africa's informally employed and self-employed: A case study of Potchefstroom
    (AOSIS, 2020) Ngwenya, Mosima; Blaauw, Phillip F.; Schenck, Rinie
    Mainstream development theory views the informal sector as a shock absorber in an economic crisis. South Africa’s informal sector is smaller than that of many developing countries and very little research has investigated underemployment in marginal informal economic activities.This study investigated the prevalence of skills-related underemployment as well as the possible determinants and impact thereof on the income and poverty of car guards, day labourers and waste pickers in Potchefstroom.There is a need to expand the debate on skills-related underemployment to the informal sector in order to improve our understanding of the shock absorber role of the informal sector and the implications of underemployment for the labour market.A cross-sectional survey design yielded the data for the analysis. Ordinary least square and probit analysis were used as the statistical methods of analyses to answer the three research questions.
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    Social work and food security: Case study on the nutritional capabilities of the landfill waste pickers in South Africa
    (SAGE Publications, 2017) Schenck, Catherina; Blaauw, Phillip F.; Viljoen, Jacoba M.M.; Swart, Elizabeth C.
    Food security (or the lack of it) has a direct impact on people’s well-being and is of great concern to many disciplines. The study on which the article is based used Drèze and Sen’s ‘nutritional capability’ concept as a theoretical framework to explain the food (in)security of landfill waste pickers. A cross-sectional research approach was followed, coupled with a triangulation mixed method research design. Viewing the waste pickers against the nutritional capability framework highlighted the important role that social work should play in focusing on people’s capabilities within their particular context.
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    The subjective well-being of day labourers in South Africa: The role of income and geographical location
    (AOSIS, 2018) Blaauw, Phillip F.; Botha, Ilse; Schenck, Catherina
    Background: The informal economy in South Africa provides employment to large numbers of people who would otherwise have no opportunity to earn a living. Yet informal activities, such as day labouring, generate highly uncertain returns. Although it seems reasonable to conclude that day labourers would be dissatisfied with their lives, this is not necessarily the case as several factors contribute to people’s subjective well-being. AIM: This study is in response to a call for more research on the subjective well-being of marginalised groups in South Africa’s informal labour market. SETTING: The day labour market in South Africa, whose members congregate at hiring sites hoping to be picked up by passers-by in need of temporary, casual workers. METHODS: Using Sen’s Capability Approach, the study builds on earlier research conducted on the general well-being of day labourers in South Africa, with specific focus on their subjective well-being and geographical location. The results from a countrywide survey of 3830 day labourers were used in a regression analysis to compare the subjective well-being among day labourers across the nine provinces of South Africa. RESULTS: There are statistically significant differences in the well-being of day labourers across the nine provinces. Economic variables play a role in both objective and subjective measures of well-being, while attitudinal and comparison variables are significant for the objective and subjective measures, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although they have to operate in harsh conditions, day labourers in South Africa display agency by choosing to migrate to richer provinces in search of greater economic opportunity and reward. However, these potential gains are often negated by increased levels of competition and thus depressed wage levels. How to nurture marginalised groups’ abilities to exercise agency and take more control of their lives represents fertile ground for researchers in future.