Socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy in post-apartheid South Africa
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Date
2018
Authors
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
Life expectancy in South African has been fluctuating following the global trends that affects both developed and developing countries. In South Africa the average life expectancy from 1994 to 1996 was higher with an average of 61,3 years. As from 1997 to 1999 it declined to an average of 58,4 years. The difference in years between 1994-1996 and 1997- 1999 was 2,9 years. From 2000-2002, life expectancy continued to decline to an average of 54,6 years. Life expectancy declined in a constant proportion from 2003-2005 and 2006-2008. In 2003-2005 it slightly declined to 52 years and in 2004-2007 it declined to 42,0 years. Life expectancy escalated after the mentioned years to 54,4 years between 2009-2011 and from 2012-2013 life expectancy was 54,0 years on average. This study examined factors or variables that verify the socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy in post-apartheid South Africa. Understanding the relationship between life expectancy and the socioeconomic variables was based on three objectives. The main objective for this study was to determine the impact of socioeconomic variables and health policy efforts on life expectancy, seeking an in-depth understanding by investigating the causality relationship between life expectancy and socioeconomic variables thus later investigating the difference between male and female’s life expectancy.
This study was motivated by the fluctuating life expectancy in South Africa. The fluctuation in life expectancy were thus studied in relation to socioeconomic determinants which are government health expenditure, government education expenditure, GDP per capita, total fertility rate, urban population, access to sustainable drinking water and undernourishment. The mentioned variables were used as socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy during post-apartheid South Africa.
Description
Magister Philosophiae - MPhil
Keywords
Error-correction model, Causality, Cointegration model, Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV), Health policy