THE SOCIOECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD POVERTY STATUS IN A LOW-INCOME SETTLEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Poverty means different things to different people. There are many different approaches to defining poverty but the basic needs approach is commonly applied, particularly in developing countries where a bigger majority of the people struggle to attain a predetermined minimum level of income to satisfy their basic needs. In this study a survey questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 300 households in Bophelong township in Gauteng province during the second half of 2013. The aim of this article is to evaluate the impact that certain household and individual characteristics (size of the household, gender of the head of the household, etc.) can have in determining the poverty status of a household. A binary logistic regression was used to analyse the data. The results show that the education level of the head of the household, his/her employment status and age were inversely related to poverty status. Improvements in the education level and increases in the age of the head of the household were found to decrease the probability of a household being categorised as poor. Households in which the head of the household is employed have a lower probability of being categorised as poor

Keywords

• Economic growth, employment, poverty reduction strategies, poverty studies

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