Browsing by Author "Posel, Dorrit Ruth."

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An analysis of sustainable livelihoods : a case study of low-wage employment of African woman at a tertiary institution in Durban, South Africa.
(2015) Stotler, Elizabeth Ryan.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
For many workers throughout the world, earnings from employment do not provide a way out of poverty. Given their low earnings, the working poor often rely on additional resources in order to make ends meet. Employing a combination of diverse assets as part of a livelihood strategy allows a poor household to minimize their vulnerability to shocks and stresses. The sustainable livelihoods framework is a useful tool for analyzing livelihoods, and how livelihood strategies can help a household reduce their economic vulnerability. When viewed within the context of the sustainable livelihoods framework, low-wage employment can be regarded as one of many tools poor households use to sustain their livelihood. In South Africa, the households of African women are typically the most vulnerable to poverty, and their access to labor earnings and other resources is often limited. In this study, I investigate the livelihood strategies of a group of African women engaged in very low-wage employment at a tertiary institution. I adopt a qualitative methodology and collect primary data from semi-structured interviews with 20 cleaners who work at a university in the city of Durban. Although the sample is small and select, there are many characteristics of the women and the households in which they live, which mirror national patterns. The majority of women in the sample were not married but all had at least one child, and most of the women received no support from the child’s father. Although these women receive very low returns to their employment, their earnings are a critical component of their livelihood strategy. However, social grant income is also important in augmenting income earned from very low-wage work. Notwithstanding very low earnings, there is also some attempt to insure their livelihoods against negative shocks through an insurance policy and participation in a savings club. The livelihoods of the women remain vulnerable, however, because their job is outsourced, their employment is secured only through short-term contracts, and they have little opportunity for advancement. Nonetheless, for these women, an insecure low-paying job is better than no job at all.
An analysis of the extent, nature and consequences of female part-time employment in post apartheid South Africa.
(2009) Muller, Colette Lynn.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
International studies of part-time employment have shown that most part-time workers are women, and specifically married women (Rosenfeld and Birkelund 1995; Caputo and Cianni 2001). The ability to work part-time enables women who have household commitments, such as caring for children, to maintain an attachment to the labour force and to preserve job skills while also undertaking household labour (Long and Jones 1981; Rosenfeld and Birkelund 1995). In many countries, therefore, the growth in part-time employment has constituted an important component of the increase in women’s work. However, part-time jobs are often considered to be poorly remunerated, offering little or no security, limited opportunities for career advancement and few (if any) benefits (Rosenfeld and Birkelund 1995; Rodgers 2004; Hirsch 2005; Bardasi and Gornick 2008). Although empirical research on South Africa’s labour markets has expanded significantly over the post-apartheid period, particularly with the introduction of nationally representative household surveys that capture individual employment data, little is known about the characteristics of South African part-time workers, or about the nature of the work these individuals perform. Using data from a selection of South Africa’s nationally representative household surveys, namely the October Household Surveys, the Labour Force Surveys and the Labour Force Survey Panel, this thesis aims to redress this lacuna. The thesis comprises four empirical chapters. The first chapter outlines the definition of part-time employment adopted throughout the study, and it presents gendered trends in part-time employment in South Africa from 1995 to 2006. The descriptive analysis shows that most part-time workers in South Africa are women, and further, that the growth in female part-time employment has been an important part of the feminisation of the labour force in South Africa. The second chapter compares part-time and full-time wage (salaried) employment. The main analytical question addressed in this chapter is whether women are penalised for working part-time. Although hourly wages in part-time employment are, on average, lower than in full-time employment, the study demonstrates that after controlling for differences in observable and unobservable characteristics, women in part-time employment receive a wage premium. The third chapter explores heterogeneity among part-time wage workers, distinguishing between women who choose to work part-time and women who report wanting to work longer hours. Key findings of this chapter are that a wage premium persists for women both in voluntary and in involuntary part-time work; but that involuntary part-time workers have a stronger labour force attachment than voluntary part-time workers. The fourth chapter uses the distinction between part-time and full-time employment to investigate changes in the gender wage gap in employment. The results show that the total gender gap in wages among part-time and full-time workers has fallen over the years, with the greatest reduction visible for those working part-time. The final chapter summarises the main findings of the thesis and it outlines avenues for further research on part-time employment in South Africa.
Attitudes to motherhood and working mothers in South Africa : insights from quantitative attitudinal data.
Robinson, Gail Susan.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
Motherhood ideologies are rooted in cultural and historical contexts, and encapsulate attitudes towards the roles and expectations of mothers. In South Africa, with many languages and deep racial and socio-economic divisions, it is likely that these attitudes are informed by a number of motherhood ideologies. This study explores the extent to which ‘intensive’ mothering ideology – intrinsic to the nuclear family ideal and predominant in Western literature – informs attitudes to mothering practice in South Africa. Within intensive mothering ideology the ‘good’ mother is positioned as exclusively responsible for the emotional and physical nurture of her child; and the centrality of the child supersedes her needs. This creates an inherent conflict for mothers who interpret their mothering role through this schema and undertake paid work, thus seemingly compromising on fulfilling their caring duty. However, research suggests that the ambivalence experienced by many Western women regarding engaging in paid work, may not have the same salience in societies whose cultural conception of motherhood embraces collective mothering, where responsibility for childcare is shared among family and community members. This is a hallmark often of extended, as opposed to nuclear, families. Thus it might be expected, in South Africa, that where African society has traditionally been characterised by extended family formation, intensive mothering ideology would not hold the same sway among Africans as qualitative South African research suggests it does for the White, middle-class. Furthermore, it might be expected that this would be balanced, among Africans, by extant support for collective mothering. In this analysis of quantitative attitudinal data, agreement with the statements ‘A child under five years suffers if his/her mother works’ and, ‘All in all, family life suffers when the woman works’, are used as indicators of intensive mothering ideology. The choice of a grant, paid to a friend or relative to care for the preschool child of a working single mother, as the best care option, is used as an indicator of support for collective mothering ideology. The findings of this study suggest that in South Africa, there is a higher prevalence of intensive mothering ideology among White women, and to a lesser extent men, than among Africans. The low level of support for a grant, paid to family members or friends for the care of a working single-mother’s pre-school child, suggests that a disjuncture might exist between the preference among Africans for collective mothering, and its assumed prevalence.
Changes in household composition since the end of apartheid : an analysis of household composition and well-being.
(2008) Visagie, Justin Paul.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
Changes in household composition in South Africa are examined for the period 1995 – 2006 using nationally representative household surveys. Trends show a significant fall in nuclear type households (households that contain immediate family members only) whilst a rise in extended type households (households that contain immediate family members plus ‘other’ relatives). These trends however mask more unique changes in specific household types. More specifically, amongst nuclear type households, there is a rise in ‘single person’ households alongside a fall in ‘nuclear family’ households. Within extended type households, there is a rise in non-standard ‘skip generation’ and ‘complex but related’ households alongside a fall in standard ‘three generation’ and ‘multi generation’ forms of household organisation. Furthermore household heads from different household types are shown to display considerable heterogeneity in terms of their demographic characteristics as well as their poverty levels. Poverty estimates are particularly sensitive to the choice of equivalence scale. Whilst extended type households are consistently poorer than nuclear type households across plausible equivalence scales, poverty rankings amongst specific household types change significantly when different equivalence scales are employed. Across time, the headcount ratio for nuclear type households is seen to fall whilst the headcount ratio for extended type households appears to rise.
A comparison of the economic status of mothers by marital status: an analysis of South African survey data.
(2009) Hatch, Michelle Deborah.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
In the post-apartheid period, little research has focused on the economic welfare of South African mothers. In particular there are few studies that compare the economic status of mothers by marital status. Many children in South Africa live in households without fathers (Posel and Devey 2006), which indicates that there is a high incidence of single motherhood in South Africa. Previous research has shown that South African women are more likely to be poor than their male counterparts and female-headed households, on average, are poorer than male-headed households (Posel and Rogan 2009a; Armstrong et al. 2008; Hoogeveen and Özler 2006; Budlender 2005; Rose and Charlton 2002; Woolard and Leibbrandt 1999). These results suggest that single mothers and their children would be more likely to be worse off than families that include men. Historically, insufficient data on motherhood made it difficult to identify a national sample of mothers; however recent household surveys have made it easier to do so. Using the General Household Survey (GHS) 2006 I am able to identify all women aged from 19 to 65 who are co-resident with at least one of their children aged 18 or younger. A disadvantage of this sample is that it excludes not co-resident mothers who have left their household of origin – often in pursuit of better work opportunities. Consequently the sample underestimates the extent of motherhood as well as the labour force participation rate of African single mothers in particular. Despite this limitation, I am able to gain useful insights into the economic welfare of South African mothers. By undertaking a descriptive and poverty analysis I show that on average, African and White single co-resident mothers have an inferior economic status compared to African and White married co-resident mothers respectively. I also show that disparities in income exist between the two races with White mothers, on average, having greater access to resources compared to African mothers. A benefit of the GHS 2006 is that it includes individual information on the receipt of social grant income. Thus I am able to quantify the impact of public transfers, as well as other categories of income, on poverty alleviation. I show that African single co-resident mothers, in particular, are highly dependent on grants. The study also explores the Child Support Grant (CSG) specifically and notes that the grant is limited in coverage and value. Furthermore, I highlight that the only other formal method for single mothers to obtain financial assistance, is via the private maintenance system, which is fraught with inefficiencies and often the costs of engaging with the system far outweigh the benefits. This dissertation therefore highlights the plight of South African single co-resident mothers and concludes by suggesting methods for improving their economic status.
The dual role of income in the spread of HIV in Africa.
(2002) Desmond, Chris.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
Every day more people in Africa are infected with HIV despite prevention efforts. These new infections and those already infected are not evenly spread throughout the continent. Substantial variations in HIV prevalence exist within and between countries. Understanding these variations helps understand what is driving the epidemic and this understanding in turn helps in the design of more appropriate interventions to prevent its further spread. This thesis builds on existing work by attempting to develop a more comprehensive theory of what role income plays in the spread of HIV. To this end the Theory of the Dual Role of Income in the Spread of HIV is outlined and explained. It uses the concepts of relative and absolute income, borrowed from elsewhere in the health economics literature, to separate the different effects income has on individual and group risk of HIV infection. The theory hypothesises that, while higher levels of absolute income (income independent of others) offer protection against infection via better access to health care and information, higher relative income (the income of an individual relative to other members of their social or reference group) increases risk of infection either as a result of more sexual partners or higher risk partners. The theory in no way argues that HIV infections are not related to poverty, but rather that the relationship is, somewhat more complicated and non-linear than often suggested. The explanatory power of the theory is examined with the use primarily of two data sets: firstly using data collected from antenatal clinics in two South African provinces linked with census data and secondly with data on a large South African company. While these data are not ideal, the results from the analysis are in line with the expectations based on the theory. The theory and the results of the analysis presented in this thesis support the argument that environments in which decisions are made and actions taken are important in determining risk of HIV infection. This argument suggests that prevention efforts need to do more then provide information.
The effects of the fast track land resettlement programme on family structures and livelihoods : a case study of resettled households in the Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe.
(2012) Mukwembi, Thebeth Rufaro.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
Social relations are valued by many in rural settings as they provide strong sources of social support among rural households. Barr (2004) and Dekker (2004a) indicate that such strong social relations exist mainly in small villages where kin and family members stay close to each other. They both highlight the importance of kin networks for most rural families to strengthen their social capital and resource-pooling strategies. Through strong and reliable social networks, people can work together for a common good and improve their well-being. It is therefore important for rural households to live close by their kin and friends so that they can pool resources and help each other in times of need. However, following land reform in Zimbabwe, many people left their communal homes and moved to the resettlement areas. These movements impacted on family structures, social networks as well as the livelihood strategies that were established in the communal areas over the years. This study investigates how the movement to resettlement areas has affected the day-to-day lives of the resettled families. This question is explored through a case study of resettled households at Dellos farm, in the Felixburg resettlement area in Zimbabwe. Given that their existing social networks were disrupted with the resettlement at Dellos farm, households established new social networks which they now rely on in their daily lives. Although these new networks are not based on kinship, which is regarded as a strong source of social support, they have proven to have great influence on people’s livelihoods at the farm. Regardless of the limited support households received from the government and other institutions, their social networks allowed them to improve their livelihoods and in turn improve their social and economic status.
Evaluating the impact of low-cost housing on beneficiaries at Kwamathukuza, Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2011) Kakaza, Nomfundo Sandra.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.; Casale, Daniela Maria.
Informed by the sustainable livelihoods (SL) approach, this project investigates whether the impact of the KwaMathukuza housing project has gone beyond meeting the basic human need for shelter to have a broader positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of the occupants. In so doing, the research also considers if the housing project (and the relocation of people to these houses) had any negative effects on the livelihoods of the households. The main methods of data collection in the study are qualitative structured interviews with a sample of beneficiaries and semi-structured interviews with various key informants. The main findings are consistent with what has been found by studies on low-cost housing in South Africa. The following challenges remain: under-funding; and anti-poor policies such as the Elimination and Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Act (EPRSA) of 2007; failure to deliver on targets set; poor quality of houses; top-down approaches that do not resolve problems; challenges in acquisition of suitable land; beneficiaries selling their houses without the knowledge of the Deeds Registrar; and delegating housing delivery to the private sector.
An evaluation of the implementations and outcomes of human-centred design : a case study of Warwick Junction.
(2016) de Freitas, Micaela.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
In recent years, the practice of design has moved towards human-centred design, and has been applied to a variety of fields, including development. This research provides an evaluation of the implementations and outcomes of human-centred design, using the case study of Warwick Junction in Durban, South Africa. Between 1995 and 2008, the Warwick Junction Urban Renewal Project took place, and using human-centred design introduced design interventions that improved the lives of traders in the area through consultation and participation. However, in 2008, despite the success of this initiative, this approach of human-centred design was abandoned in Warwick Junction. Drawing on available research on human-centred design as well as data collected through independent research and interviews with traders, municipal officials and designers, the implementations and outcomes of the Warwick Project are explored. This study illustrates the factors that are necessary for human-centred design to be implemented in a development context: an environment that encourages change and creative problem-solving; autonomy; observation of the end-users; and a desire to create systemic, sustainable change. With Warwick Junction as a case study, this research identified how humancentred design was used during the Warwick Project through processes such as interdisciplinary teamwork, area-based management, trader consultation and participation, prototyping of design interventions and designers fulfilling the role of facilitators. The findings suggest that if human-centred design is to be used in a development context, participation of the end-users is necessary, human-centred design must be advocated for by all parties involved, and finally, the practice of human-centred design must be continued and incorporated into common practice and policy changes in order for design interventions to be sustained beyond the implementation phase.
The feminisation of poverty and female headship in post-apartheid South Africa, 1997-2006.
(2011) Rogan, Michael J.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
A large and growing body of scholarship has suggested that income poverty has recently decreased in post-apartheid South Africa. Evidence for an overall drop in poverty rates notwithstanding, there has been very little work which has examined the gendered nature of poverty. There have, however, been important changes over the period which might suggest that poverty trends have been gendered. On the one hand, for example, the post-apartheid period has seen the expansion of several grants to support the care-givers of children and the elderly as well as employment growth for women. On the other hand, this same period has been characterised by declining marital rates, rising rates of female unemployment, and women increasingly overrepresented in low-wage work, changes which would be expected to have negative implications for women's economic well-being. This thesis uses nationally representative household survey data from the October Household Surveys (1997 and 1999) and the General Household Surveys (2004 and 2006) to investigate gendered trends in income poverty in several different ways. It examines first, whether females are more likely to live in poor households than males, and whether this has changed over time; and second, how poverty has changed among female- and male-headed households. The thesis also considers why females and female-headed households are more vulnerable to poverty and why the poverty differential between males and females (and female- and male-headed households) may have widened over time. Given the criticism of headship based analyses of income poverty, the thesis also investigates poverty and female headship in greater detail by adopting several alternative definitions of female headship that are commonly used in the literature.
Gender differences in self-employment characteristics in post-apartheid South Africa : a detailed analysis of the self-employed.
(2010) Gordon, Steven Lawrence.; Casale, Daniela Maria.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
This study investigates gender differences in South African self-employment, focusing particularly on earnings differences. The study identifies a large earnings gap in favour of men in self-employment, and it explores how the determinants of female and male returns to self-employment differ. Using a combination of descriptive and econometric methods and data from the Labour Force Surveys for 2001-2007, I find that female self-employment is more likely than male selfemployment to exhibit characteristics that are associated with low returns. The female self-employed tend to work part-time, be home-based, have own account enterprises and work in unskilled occupations in the informal sector. The data also suggest the presence of gender discrimination among the self-employed which may be the result of consumer discrimination and discrimination in access to credit or product markets. Focusing on the non-agricultural informal sector, I construct a more detailed gendered profile of the self-employed using a household survey from October 2005, namely the Survey of Employers and the Self-Employed. This survey captures a wealth of information on the self-employed and their businesses which is not available in the Labour Force Survey data. The analysis reveals that, in comparison to men, women are more likely to enter self-employment out of necessity, spend less starting a business, have poorer access to transport and report lower overheads. In light of the key constraints identified particularly by women in self-employment, the analysis suggests that assistance with marketing, better access to raw materials/supplies, provision of an alternative location, and better access to credit markets would help improve the profitability of their businesses.
Home language and English language ability in South Africa: Insights from new data.
(Southern African Applied Linguistics Association & The Linguistics Society of Southern Africa., 2010-03-11) Posel, Dorrit Ruth.; Zeller, Jochen Klaus.
In this paper we analyse data on language ability collected in a new nationally representative household survey, the National Income Dynamics Study, which captures information on reading and writing ability, both in the individual’s home language and in English. We find that self-assessed reading and writing ability are highly correlated in the data, and that individuals typically report considerably higher ability in their home language than in English. The data suggest large racial differences in language skills, in the individual’s home language and particularly in English. Racial differences however are narrower among younger adults (aged 15 to 30 years) than among older adults. Furthermore, whereas older women are less likely than older men to report being able to read and write very well, in both their home language and in English, this is reversed among younger women and men. Finally we show that individuals who report good reading and writing ability in their home language and far more likely to report good reading and writing ability in English.
Households and labour migration in post-apartheid South Africa.
(2010) Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
This study compares measures of labour migration and remittance receipt in the National Income Dynamics Study with measures generated using earlier national household surveys conducted in South Africa. Household survey data suggest that although the temporary migration of individuals for employment reasons remained a persistent feature of the first decade post apartheid, the extent of labour migration and remittance receipt has fallen significantly in recent years. The study also considers how differences in the collection of information on labour migration may affect the comparability of measures across the surveys.
Investigating the relationship between income and subjective well-being in South Africa.
(2013) Frame, Emily Sarah Nomgcobo.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
Conventional approaches to the analysis of human well-being use money-metric measures such as income or consumption. However, they are heavily criticised for relying on a limited understanding of well-being. In recent decades, subjective measures of well-being have been increasingly presented as providing a more inclusive and holistic perspective of well-being. Using data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), this dissertation examines the relationship between income, a common money-metric measure of well-being, and life satisfaction, a key indicator of subjective well-being. The results show that income and life satisfaction exhibit a weak but significant positive relationship, one which is stronger at lower levels of income. In addition to income, the analysis identifies a number of other significant correlates of subjective well-being. Furthermore, several differences in the correlates of income and life satisfaction are detected. These results highlight how subjective well-being measures can include information about people’s lived experiences in ways that are not fully captured in objective money-metric measures.
Is nutritional priority given to pregnant women? : a case study of intra-household food allocation among the rural poor in the Inchanga area, South Africa.
(2009) Scott, Sarah Lynn.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
The premise of this case study research is that nutritional requirements increase when women fall pregnant and that obtaining adequate nutrition is of particular importance for the maternal environment and fetal growth on both short-term and long-term outcomes, impacting everything from individual well-being to Gross Domestic Product of a nation. Nutrition is a complex and multi-faceted area of study. An important part of this study is the nature of intra-household allocation. This study explores the allocation of food and resources within a sample of rural households to identify whether the onset of pregnancy changes a woman’s ability to claim (receive) additional food and resources to meet her increased nutritional needs. Using case study methodology, I collected a combination of quantitative and qualitative data on individual and household level information of 32 pregnant women in the area of Inchanga, South Africa. Almost all pregnant women in this sample report that their absolute needs are met. I also find that a majority of respondents report a relative increase in food, money and/or resources during pregnancy. This indicates that for the greater part of households in this sample, women’s access to nutrition does change because they are pregnant. Where a pregnant woman’s nutritional needs were not met, important individual and household correlates include the pregnant woman’s relationship to the head of household, to other household members as well as to the father of the child, in addition to the woman’s individual access to and control over income.
Is there evidence of a wage penalty to female part-time employment in South Africa?
(2008-09) Posel, Dorrit Ruth.; Muller, Colette Lynn.
In this paper, we investigate female part-time employment in South Africa. Using household survey data for South Africa from 1995 to 2004, we show that women are over-represented in part-time employment, and that the growth in part-time work has been an important feature of the feminisation of the labour force. In contrast to many studies of part-time work in other countries, however, we find evidence of a significant wage premium to female part-time employment. The premium is also robust to fixed effects estimations using Labour Force Survey panel data from 2001 to 2004, where controlling for unobservable differences increases its size. The premium persists with different hourly thresholds defining part-time employment and when we account for possible reporting errors in hours worked.
Municipal water in South Africa : the relationship between access, quality and childhood diarrhoea.
(2014) Timol, Furzana.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
Access to drinking water is a basic human right. Water is also a vehicle for the transmission of a number of communicable diseases. To reduce the risk of disease, water accessed must also be of a good quality, from a reliable source and within close proximity to one's residence. This dissertation examines the relationship between water access, water quality, and child health as measured through the incidence of childhood diarrhoeal disease. Two sets of analyses are conducted using General Household Survey data supplied by Statistics South Africa. The first component uses bivariate analysis to explore changes in water access and water quality between 2006 and 2011 in relation to various water-related characteristics. The second component uses the 2011 data in multivariate probit models to predict the probability of childhood diarrhoeal disease. Findings of the study suggest that the source of piped water access and the self-reported quality of municipal water are not significant predictors of child health. Instead, the household’s treatment of water accessed is significantly associated with a lower probability of diarrhoeal disease. This finding suggests that interventions to improve end-use treatment of drinking water may be effective in reducing the burden of childhood disease.
The political economy of (female) prostitution : a feminist investigation.
(1992) Posel, Dorrit Ruth.; Meth, Charles.
The original impetus for this investigation into prostitution comes from an economic inquiry into one form of work performed largely by women. But as a feminist study, this investigation cannot look simply at the economics of prostitution. Prostitution is both work and sex and an analysis must therefore also explore the question of sexuality, and the nature of sexual relations between men and women. This study seeks to offer a conceptual understanding of prostitution, and in particular, to examine the structural determinants of the sex industry. The analysis is couched within a feminist framework, taking cognisance of the theoretical divisions within feminism itself. The study attempts further to examine the question of policies towards prostitution, an issue which has been brought to the fore by the AIDS pandemic. In so doing, it refers to historical examples of state control of the sex market and draws on feminist challenges to such regulation. These challenges have exposed a fundamental contradiction for feminist praxis between the need both to protect and empower women. In exploring the nature and implications of this contradiction, the investigation looks also at the feminist debate around the censorship of pornography, a debate which highlights the kinds of questions feminists must confront when considering the issue of control. An attempt is made to resolve this contradiction by drawing a distinction between short-term and long-term policies towards prostitution. Although the long-term feminist project is the creation of a society where the structural determinants of the sex market have been eliminated, it is argued that this vision ignores the reality of prostitution and the problems faced by those women who work in the sex industry. Prostitution must be legalised to ensure the rights and protection of prostitutes, but these measures must be complemented by policies that challenge the structural basis of prostitution, and the oppression of women in society in general.
The returns to self-employment in South Africa : an analysis of household survey data.
(2008) Steenkamp, Francois Karl.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
This study investigates self-employment in South Africa focusing particularly on earnmgs differences among the self-employed. A large earnings gap is present among Blacks and Whites in self-employment and the study examines how much of this earnings gap is attributable to differences in observed characteristics of the self-employed, and how much derives from differences in the returns to these observed characteristics. I estimate earnings equations using data from the September 2004 Labour Force Survey and find that variables representing individual, household and employment characteristics of the self-employed are determining part of their earnings. Using the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique, I however, establish that only 55 percent of the earnings differential between Blacks and Whites in self-employment is attributable to differences in observed characteristics. The remainder of the earnings differential may reflect the effects of omitted (unobserved) characteristics, or it may reflect differences in the returns to observed characteristics. Different returns to endowments may be the results of discrimination among the self-employed, including consumer discrimination and discrimination in access to credit or product markets.
Revisiting informal employment and segementation in the South African labour market.
(2008) Heintz, James.; Posel, Dorrit Ruth.
This study revisits the definition of informal employment, and it investigates the puzzle of high open unemployment co-existing with relatively limited informal employment in South Africa. We estimate earnings equations using data from the September 2004 Labour Force Survey and present evidence of persistent earnings differentials not only between formal and informal employment, but also between types of informal employment. These persistent earnings differentials are suggestive of complex segmentation in the South African labour market and challenge the presentation of informal employment as an undifferentiated residual with no barriers to entry or mobility.