A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INCOME- AND ASSET-BASED POVERTY MEASURES OF HOUSEHOLDS IN A TOWNSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA

Yıl 2018, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 1, 184 - 202, 01.01.2018

Paul-francois Muzindutsi

Öz

Poverty alleviation is an essential goal for policy-makers. As a result, the development of an accurate measure of poverty is a key step to conceptualise the poverty phenomenon. Several measures for evaluating poverty exist but most of these measures cannot be generalised as they tend to be area- and communityspecific. This study compared the use of the income- and asset-based measures to determine the poverty status of households in a South African Township. A quantitative research approach, utilising a survey questionnaire, was adopted to collect data from 364 households in year 2015. The income-based poverty was measured using the Household Subsistence Level (HSL); while Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to determine the asset-based poverty status. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to assess whether there is a significant difference between the results of these two measures of poverty. A binary logistic regression model was used subsequently to determine to what extent a set of demographic variables influence the poverty status. Results revealed that the levels of poverty status tend to be high when the income-based poverty is used but the difference between the results of the two measures of poverty was found to be not statistically significant. The key determinants of asset-based poverty status in the selected Township include the marital status of the household head, the household size and receipt of a social grant. This study concludes that, in the absence of the income, the asset index can be used as measurement of poverty in low income areas.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Poverty status, Poverty measures, Asset Index, Socio-economic status

Kaynakça

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