- Human Sciences Research Council
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- Poverty, Public Opinion, Poverty Reduction Strategies, Attitudes (Social Psychology), Inequality (Economics), Fear of Crime, and 15 moreAttitude change, Social cohesion, Social Attitudes, Social Policy, Quality of life, Happiness and Well Being, Poverty and Inequality, South African Politics and Society, Longitudinal Research, Poverty Analysis, Panel Data, Chronic poverty, Dynamics of Poverty, Dynamic Poverty Measurement, and Children and Familiesedit
Since the transition to democracy in 1994, South Africa has become a well documented nation. A multitude of national and sub-national studies have been conducted, yielding a wealth of information about the characteristics of South African... more
Since the transition to democracy in 1994, South Africa has become a well documented nation. A multitude of national and sub-national studies have been conducted, yielding a wealth of information about the characteristics of South African society, and how these have evolved over time. However, less is known about how South Africans feel about their world and themselves. There remains much scope for deepening our understanding of the public’s values, chronicling how these have been changing, and determining the extent to which different segments of the population vary in their attitudes and beliefs.
South African Social Attitudes: Reflections on the Age of Hope is the second in the HSRC series that aims to monitor the evolving dynamics of South African social values in relation to broader societal developments. It is based primarily on the findings of the 2004 and 2005 rounds of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), which involved interviewing a nationally representative sample of more than 5000 individuals aged 16 years and older.
Like the previous edition, this volume is structured according to three thematic sections. The first section on race, class and politics examines the public’s views on issues such as national priorities, racial transformation policy, local government, and includes an in-depth examination of youth attitudes. The second section addresses perceptions about poverty, inequality and service delivery. The final section on societal values focuses on attitudes in relation to religion, the environment, family, employment, and the fear of crime.
South African Social Attitudes: Reflections on the Age of Hope is the second in the HSRC series that aims to monitor the evolving dynamics of South African social values in relation to broader societal developments. It is based primarily on the findings of the 2004 and 2005 rounds of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), which involved interviewing a nationally representative sample of more than 5000 individuals aged 16 years and older.
Like the previous edition, this volume is structured according to three thematic sections. The first section on race, class and politics examines the public’s views on issues such as national priorities, racial transformation policy, local government, and includes an in-depth examination of youth attitudes. The second section addresses perceptions about poverty, inequality and service delivery. The final section on societal values focuses on attitudes in relation to religion, the environment, family, employment, and the fear of crime.
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In this policy brief we analyse data from a 2013 survey of 2 739 South Africans on their interest in and knowledge of foreign affairs, views on the country’s foreign policy goals, as well as foreign policy preferences. We find that public... more
In this policy brief we analyse data from a 2013 survey of 2 739 South Africans on their interest in and knowledge of foreign affairs, views on the country’s foreign policy goals, as well as foreign policy preferences. We find that public awareness of events outside South Africa is relatively circumscribed, suggesting the continued need for education strategies to improve public knowledge of foreign affairs. In the absence of knowledge, we find that ideological positions drive foreign policy preferences and that the public is polarised on many important foreign policy questions. We suggest that more research is needed to investigate differential public support for the policy direction government seeks to adopt, and that future work should focus on monitoring public perceptions of foreign policy, as well as perceptions of the benefits of foreign policy activities.
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This article focuses on providing new insights into the nature of public opinion about protest action in South Africa. Since the mid-2000s the country has experienced one of the world’s highest levels of popular protest and strike action,... more
This article focuses on providing new insights into the nature of public opinion about protest action in South Africa. Since the mid-2000s the country has experienced one of the world’s highest levels of popular protest and strike action, combined with the recent resurgence of an active student protest movement. Sociological research into these protests has suggested that they represent distinct phenomena and that local protests have assumed plural forms that cut across simple violent/non-violent and orderly/disorderly binary distinctions. Despite the rapid growth of literature on South African protests, surprisingly little is known about public opinion relating to various forms of protest. Consequently, this article aims to examine differences with regard to the acceptability, perceived effectiveness and participation in respect of three categories of protest action, namely orderly, disruptive and violent protests. The article uses data from a protest module included as part of the...
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The policing response to rising protest action in the country has received increased attention in the last decade. This is particularly owing to concerns over confrontations during which protesters have been arrested, injured and in some... more
The policing response to rising protest action in the country has received increased attention in the last decade. This is particularly owing to concerns over confrontations during which protesters have been arrested, injured and in some instances killed by the police. Despite the criticism voiced by various stakeholders about the manner in which the police manage crowd gatherings, relatively little is known about the views of South African adults on the policing of protest action and the factors that shape such attitudes. To provide some insight, this article draws on data from a specialised module on protest-related attitudes and behaviour that was fielded as part of the 2016 round of the Human Sciences Research Council’s South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) series. This nationally representative survey included specific questions probing the public’s overall evaluation of the performance of the police in dealing with protests, and the justifiability of the use of force i...
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The recent commemoration of Heritage Day and Heritage Month raised questions about the state of social cohesion and national identity in the country after 20 years of democracy. Are we proudly South African? What are we most proud of and... more
The recent commemoration of Heritage Day and Heritage Month raised questions about the state of social cohesion and national identity in the country after 20 years of democracy. Are we proudly South African? What are we most proud of and what shames us about our country? Benjamin Roberts, Steven Gordon, Jare Struwig and Greg Houston examine trends in national pride since 2003. - See more at: http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-outputs/view/7151#sthash.ScjXNBqM.dpuf
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The recent commemoration of Heritage Day and Heritage Month raised questions about the state of social cohesion and national identity in the country after 20 years of democracy. Are we proudly South African? What are we most proud of and... more
The recent commemoration of Heritage Day and Heritage Month raised questions about the state of social cohesion and national identity in the country after 20 years of democracy. Are we proudly South African? What are we most proud of and what shames us about our country?
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Since its introduction, affirmative action has become an increasingly controversial policy to address labour market inequalities in South Africa. Yet, in spite of this public debate, nationally representative, empirical research on... more
Since its introduction, affirmative action has become an increasingly controversial policy to address labour market inequalities in South Africa. Yet, in spite of this public debate, nationally representative, empirical research on patterns of opposition to and support for the redress policy remains relatively circumscribed. In this article, attitudinal data collected over the past decade is employed to examine the factors that influence these perceptions, and the extent to which they have been changing. The results reveal that attitudes to race- and gender-based affirmative action in employment have been favourable on aggregate over the last decade. The specified beneficiary of affirmative action appears to matter, with more positive evaluations evident when the policies target women and disabled persons than when racial disadvantage is targeted. Furthermore, while there is a broad-based, resolute belief in racial equality in principle, there is less agreement on the implementation of particular redress policies. Affirmative action for instance enjoys less support than compensatory policies or those focused on addressing class-based disadvantage. An element of self-interest appears to be informing evaluations among designated beneficiary groups, with black respondents more inclined than other population groups to support race-based affirmative action and women more partial to gender-based affirmative action than men. While the beneficiaries of affirmative action have typically been the better educated and skilled among the designated groups, highest support for this policy is reported by the more marginalized and vulnerable who are least likely to have personally benefitted from affirmative action implementation to date. This support may reflect a sense of collective self-interest or possibly an expectation that this redress policy will bring benefits in the future. Finally, views on whether affirmative action is producing a more skilled workforce and socially cohesive society are again broadly positive, though the profile of those believing in such outcomes deviates somewhat from those supporting affirmative action generally. In this instance, those least likely to have gained from affirmative action in practice are those least confident in the policy’s outcomes, possibly due to a gap between perceived performance of affirmative action policy and expected benefits
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The aim of this article is to examine the performance of the Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa. The analysis not only confines itself to the 2011 local government elections, but also examines how the IEC, through the use of a... more
The aim of this article is to examine the performance of the Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa. The analysis not only confines itself to the 2011 local government elections, but also examines how the IEC, through the use of a Voter Participation Survey (VPS) and an Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS), has been evaluated by the voters over the past local government elections. Results from these surveys show overwhelming endorsement of the Electoral Commission alongside noteworthy generally positive attitudes regarding voting intention. However, despite the positive findings, signs of a growing sense of political disillusionment are evident among South Africans. The article examines some of the reasons for the disillusionment, places it in an international context where political values are changing, and also suggests ways for the IEC to address it going forward.
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This paper presents the Provincial Indices of Multiple Deprivation that were constructed by the authors at ward level using 2001 Census data for each of South Africa’s nine provinces. The principles adopted in conceptualising the indices... more
This paper presents the Provincial Indices of Multiple Deprivation that were constructed by the authors at ward level using 2001 Census data for each of South Africa’s nine provinces. The principles adopted in conceptualising the indices are described and multiple deprivation is defined as a weighted combination of discrete dimensions of deprivation. The methodological approach used is outlined and key findings are presented for one province—the Eastern Cape. The paper summarises the ways in which the research is being developed further and the potential uses of these tools for policy and research.
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This article explores public attitudes relating to the extent to which municipalities live up to the Batho Pele ("People First") principles in providing household services. The principles represent the inner core of the White Paper on... more
This article explores public attitudes relating to the extent to which municipalities live up to the Batho Pele ("People First") principles in providing household services. The principles represent the inner core of the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (Notice No. 1459 of 1997) and serve as the framework for a service delivery ethic in the public sector consistent with the nation’s constitutional ideals of an efficient, economic and effective use of public resources in a manner that is development-oriented and responsive to peoples’ needs. It goes on to offer a preliminary examination of some of the geographic, socio-economic and service delivery correlates of such assessments. It then proceeds to investigate the impact that perceived good or poor performance has on political values and behaviour by focusing on three fundamental sets of outcome variables, namely institutional trust; conventional and unconventional forms of political participation; and satisfaction with democracy and future expectations. The concluding section offers some reflections of the importance of the findings for public policy.
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We explore differences in the findings on poverty in Namibia from a series participatory poverty assessments and a household survey on household income and expenditure. We find that the main conclusions from these research processes... more
We explore differences in the findings on poverty in Namibia from a series participatory poverty assessments and a household survey on household income and expenditure. We find that the main conclusions from these research processes appear plausible even if they point to diverging paths of poverty. These results are attributed to methodological challenges and especially to different perceptions about the determinants of poverty that each approach conveys. Using a Q-Squared approach we illustrate that when definitions of poverty based on the perceptions raised in the qualitative assessments are used on the quantitative data then the results tend to converge. One particularly interesting finding is that those identified as poor using the official poverty measure, established explicitly to capture deprivation in consumption expenditure, have higher average levels of consumption expenditure than a combined Q-Squared measure based exclusively on non-monetary criteria. We generally find that while there might have been a real improvement in consumption-based measures of poverty over time, given the emphasis on issues related to assets, access to and quality of delivery of basic services, and issues related to vulnerabilities (especially food insecurity and the AIDS epidemic) in the participatory poverty assessments, it is not surprising that the qualitative data point to deteriorating living conditions
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In 1999, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that developing countries must complete Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as a prerequisite for accessing concessional finance. Adopted by more than... more
In 1999, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that developing countries must complete Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as a prerequisite for accessing concessional finance. Adopted by more than two-thirds of sub-Saharan African countries, this development policy mechanism represents a potentially significant instrument for meeting the needs of youth. This article reviews the region’s PRSPs to assess youth participation in formulation processes, the representation of the relationship between poverty and youth, and the extent to which youth issues are mainstreamed into policy content. The results suggest that the youth are an under-represented constituency and that PRSPs do not yet approximate comprehensive plans to address the multiple challenges facing the youth. Despite encouraging evidence of youth participation in PRSP formulation, and recognition of the deprivation and poverty experienced by many youth, greater effort is required to carry this through into implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
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This report examines the extent to which recent poverty reduction strategies and policy in Southern Africa reflect the current understanding of migration and its dynamics. The analysis also provides some insight into the prevailing... more
This report examines the extent to which recent poverty reduction strategies and policy in Southern Africa reflect the current understanding of migration and its dynamics. The analysis also provides some insight into the prevailing assumptions about migration and development of regional organisations, governments and donors that have shaped poverty reduction strategies in the sub-region.
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Increasingly national statistical agencies are being called upon to provide high quality data on a regular basis, to be used by governments for evidence-based policy development. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) give impetus to... more
Increasingly national statistical agencies are being called upon to provide high quality data on a regular basis, to be used by governments for evidence-based policy development. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) give impetus to this, and bring a prerequisite for comprehensive “poverty diagnosis”. Often the data that are required are not available, or are incomplete while the concepts that are to be used may be ambiguous or require adaptation to local conditions. The poverty analysis of Lesotho in this article represents a contribution towards the emerging culture of evidence-based policy-making in developing countries in that it explores changes in key poverty-related social indicators. Techniques for dealing with poor data are discussed and an approach to developing a poverty threshold adapted to the local conditions of Lesotho is described.
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This report forms part of a series of annual assessments on the experiences of countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) approach. Commissioned by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) as an input... more
This report forms part of a series of annual assessments on the experiences of countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) approach. Commissioned by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) as an input into the 2003 annual PRSP Learning Group meeting, the report essentially seeks to assess developments in relation to five thematic areas: (i) the PRSP process itself; (ii) content of the PRSP; (iii) public finance aspects of the PRSP; (iv) the realignment of donor policies and resources towards the PRSP; and (v) capacity building.
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To develop a management strategy for informal fishers, a necessary first step is information about the nature of these fishers, their numbers and their socio-economic status. To accomplish this, a survey of socio-economic conditions and... more
To develop a management strategy for informal fishers, a necessary first step is information about the nature of these fishers, their numbers and their socio-economic status. To accomplish this, a survey of socio-economic conditions and use of marine resources was undertaken in 1999 at 20 localities where fishing occurs around the coast of South Africa, concentrating on subsistence or small- to micro-scale artisanal commercial fishers. In each locality, 16–31 “fisher households” were surveyed by questionnaires, focus-group discussions and interviews with key informants. Demographic analyses revealed a low level of migrancy (~5%), an average of 5.3 persons per household and a mean age of 27. Only ~20% of fishers were women and ~15% were children. Poverty was prevalent: unemployment averaged 40.3% (much higher than the national norm of 29.3%). Mean adult equivalent income per month spanned R193–R735 among regions, and was not correlated with size of settlement. Education levels were low, only ~33% of people >20 years old having completed primary school. Migrancy was highest in rural areas (but still much less than the national norm), intermediate in towns and least in metropolitan areas. Household size, participation of women and poverty all followed similar trends. Comparing regions, the East Coast and the province of KwaZulu-Natal had higher migrancy rates, larger household sizes, greater poverty, and greater participation by women in fishing, than on the South and West coasts. Household expenditure on food was ~R450 per month on the South-East and KwaZulu-Natal coasts and ~R750 on the West Coast, and exceeded 60% of income (a measure of “food security”) in about half the households surveyed. Harvested resources were sold, consumed or used as bait. In all regions, the two most frequently harvested resources were fish (mostly sold, predominantly fished by men) and intertidal rocky-shore invertebrates (largely consumed, and involving women to a greater degree). On the West Coast, rock lobster Jasus lalandii was the third-most important resource, but on the South and KwaZulu-Natal coasts this species was replaced by estuarine invertebrates. Abalone Haliotis midae, oysters, sandy-beach invertebrates and kelp or seaweeds made up the balance. Diversity of harvested resources increased west to east, following biogeographic trends. The resources could be divided into those of high value (rock lobsters, abalone and, to a lesser extent, fish) and those of lower value (such as limpets, mussels and bait organisms). It is argued that high-value resources are best used to create micro- and small-scale commercial enterprises that can serve to uplift poor fishers. Lowvalue resources constitute subsistence resources, for which preferential rights should be established for subsistence fishers, including development of exclusive-use zones where necessary. Emerging characteristics of fishing communities that were helpful in defining subsistence fishers in the South African context were poverty, harvest for self-use (whether by consumption or sale to meet basic needs of food security), use of low-technology gear, and concentration of effort on or from shores or in estuaries. At least portions of the catches of all resources are sold, and the majority of equipment is purchased, so any definition of subsistence fishers cannot exclude those who sell part of their catch or do not use hand-made equipment. Some success was evident with co-management, encouraging further exploration of this style of management for subsistence fishers.
This article examines the rationale for a dynamic perspective of poverty in South Africa and analyses the magnitude and characteristics of those in chronic versus transitory poverty using data from the KwaZulu-Natal Income Dynamics Study.... more
This article examines the rationale for a dynamic perspective of poverty in South Africa and analyses the magnitude and characteristics of those in chronic versus transitory poverty using data from the KwaZulu-Natal Income Dynamics Study. The results show that the incidence and depth of poverty have increased steadily between 1993 and 1998, a trend that is pronounced in rural localities and for female-headed households. Though the majority of households (30.7%) were found to be experiencing transitory poverty, a significant proportion of households, in lieu of the expected small minority suggested by previous empirical research, were chronically poor (22.3%).