Browsing by Author "Swanepoel, Christie"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Comparing the economic development in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces in South Africa since the advent of democracy
    (University of the Western Cape, 2024) Mfumu, Zahra; Swanepoel, Christie; Yu, Derek
    There have been many studies investigating multi-dimensional poverty in South Africa since the descent of apartheid. Segregation created during the apartheid era left specific provinces vulnerable to multi-dimensional poverty. This study investigates the changes in multi-dimensional poverty, with a focus on the two disadvantaged provinces: Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Households in these two provinces were severely constrained during the apartheid era. Given this fact, this study examined the economic development in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo to measure changes between 2005 and 2021. This research could enable the drafting and implementation of policies that are appropriate to the realities faced by households in these provinces. This study used the 2005, 2013, and 2021 General Household Survey (GHS) data to investigate the relationship of the non-income welfare index within Eastern Cape and Limpopo. The indicators include dwelling type, energy for cooking, water access, refuse removal frequency; sanitation facility; wall material of dwelling; access to telephone and internet; ownership to motor vehicle, computer, fridge, satellite dish/decoder, and or television. In determination to derive a multidimensional non-income welfare index, the study uses the Principal Component Analysis approach as a method.
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    A comparison of South Africa’s colonial education system with other African countries
    (University of Western Cape, 2021) Tocknell, Dumine; Swanepoel, Christie
    Past historical events are crucial for understanding economies and answering imperative questions such as why economic inequalities persist, why certain countries experience economic growth or lag behind, and how societies and institutions shape economic performance. Past events such as colonialism, where colonial powers rooted themselves in the African continent for the aim of economic dominance, are said to have left lasting effects, especially with regards to the development outcomes within the colonised country.
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    How education outcomes differed between types of schools in nineteenth-century South Africa
    (University of Western Cape, 2021) Henn, Furnandy Jade; Swanepoel, Christie
    Economists have confidently agreed that the progression of human capital has an important effect on a state's productivity and growth. Moreover, current research proves the importance of educational outcomes throughout history. Therefore, measuring the quality of education throughout periods can test whether or not human literacy rates directly impact the long-run economic growth of a society. South Africa’s current educational system stems from deeply rooted practices instilled in a previously colonised state. A new branch of economics in South Africa's context is economic history, which allows researchers to analyse previous historical events and make inferences regarding practices, laws, and phenomena occurring in the current era.
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    Investigating chronic unemployment in South Africa, 2008-2015
    (University of the Western Cape, 2020) Wakefield, Hayley Innez; Yu, Derek; Swanepoel, Christie
    The South African economy is faced with a crisis of persistently high and rising unemployment rates. Although this is a cause for serious concern, the statistic captures a segment of the working-age population enduring recurrent spells of unemployment – a vulnerable group for consideration that these figures fail to uncover. The dilemma could be linked to the influx of previously disadvantaged groups (i.e. Africans and females) into the labour market since the dawn of democracy. Thus, the newly appointed South African government inherits an economy that had systematically disadvantaged most of the population, leading to an oversupply of labour, where highly-skilled labour appears to be more appealing in comparison to the relatively low-skilled labour offered by these persons. Historically suppressed groups thus disproportionately bear the brunt of this unemployment, where some may have involuntarily remained rooted in unemployment for longer periods of time than those considered unemployed on a temporal basis. The importance of exploring and understanding the roles of some underlying forces is extremely crucial to wrestle this pressing issue in a South African context, when examining labour market dynamics. This study therefore explores the nature and extent of chronic unemployment by examining the data of the first four available waves (2008, 2010/2011, 2012 and 2014/2015) of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS). The empirical findings reveal that those significantly more susceptible to chronic unemployment are: African individuals with either incomplete secondary education or at most a Matric qualification in tandem with an additional certificate/diploma, residing in traditional areas in less wealthy provinces (i.e. Free State and Mpumalanga). Furthermore, the results demonstrate that these chronically unemployed individuals are more likely to form part of the youth (25-44 years), be non-poor, with their household composition consisting of one to five household members where the minority enjoy wage employment whereas the majority endure spells of unemployment. Ultimately, they devote themselves to informal employment and occupations requiring semi-skilled and relatively unskilled labour in the community, social and personal services industry and on average earn R 3 342 per month in 2016 December prices.
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    Investigating factors influencing class attendance and performance of first-year economics students
    (Stellenbosch University, 2021) Swanepoel, Christie; Beukes, Roelf; Yu, Derek
    The academic success of first-year Economics students has been examined in many South African studies in Economic Education. These studies controlled for differences in demographic characteristics, last school examination (Matric) subjects and results, as well as lecture and tutorial attendance when investigating differences in students’ performance. While there is an abundance of international studies investigating the main reasons for attendance or non-attendance, these studies are rare in the South African context, especially in the field of Economics. Hence, this study fills the existing local research gap by investigating factors influencing lecture attendance as well as their possible impact on the performance of first-year Microeconomics students at the University of the Western Cape.
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    Investigating the linkages between the formal and informal sector in South Africa
    (University of Western Cape, 2021) Mashimbyi, Vonani Chris; Swanepoel, Christie
    There have been many studies focussing on informal sector in South Africa in the last 25 years. This paper adds to the wealth of research that has been conducted in this field. It examines the linkages between the formal sector and informal sector, and how they interact with each other. The study uses probit models and fixed effects models to investigate how variables such as age, education and skill level affect employability and income in the labour market. This paper uses two data sets: wave 1 to wave 5 panel data of the 2008-2016 National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) to investigate the nature of the formal sector and the informal sector in South Africa. To study the linkages between the firms in the formal and informal sector, it uses the eThekwini Large and Medium Manufacturing Firm Survey dataset collected in 2013/2014.