South Africa can – and should – top up child support grants to avoid a humanitarian crisis
In this article published in The Conversation in March, Ihsaan Bassier, Josh Budlender, Prof. Murray Leibbrandt, Prof. Vimal Ranchhod and Rocco Zizzamia argued that South Africa’s lockdown will hit informal workers and their households hardest and that a top-up to the Child Support Grant was needed to mitigate this impact. Informal workers will suffer the most during the lockdown and without relief measures targeted at these workers’ households, the decline in earnings in the informal sector will have a devastating impact on poverty and food insecurity in South Africa. The authors used NIDS Wave 5 data in their analysis.
Read the article in The Conversation. The South African government has since announced a temporary top-up to the Child Support Grant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the national lockdown and associated effects.
2018
Branson, N. (2018, July 25). South Africa: Lots of Young South Africans Aren’t Going to Technical Colleges. What Can Be Done. The Conversation.
De Lange, R. (2018, February 2). Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning. Engineering News.
eNCA. (2018, October 9). World Mental Health Day. eNCA.
Govender, S. (2018, February 28). Beware the telly-tale signs of a deadly habit. Times Live.
Health-e News. (2018, April 8). Health-e News: ‘Food apartheid’ is stoking violence. Daily Maverick.
Hundenborn, J. (2018, May 9). Increasing our capacity to earn a liveable income. IOL.
Hundenborn, J. (2018, April 29). Tackling inequality sustainably – beyond social grants. Daily Maverick.
IT-Online. (2018, March 20). The main causes of depression in SA. IT-Online.
Khunou, K. and Nkosi, T. (2018, October 14). Domestic work is work too. City Press.
Korhonen, M. (2018, March 5). FACTSHEET: Measuring South Africa’s (black) middle class. Africa Check.
Korhonen, M. (2018, March 22). FACTSHEET: Wealth in South Africa. Africa Check.
Krige, N. (2018, September 26). An economic interrogation of depression. UCT News.
Lehohla, P. (2018, February 27). OPINION: Significance of In-depth to an Africa we all want. Business Report.
Molelekwa, T. (2018, April 16). Lack of proper nutrition a key obstacle to learning for SA kids. Health24.
Northglen News. (2018, September 12). Depression more prevalent in smoking teens, says study. Northglen News.
Richmond, S. (2018, February 20). The real state of the nation: how to solve long-term problems. Business Day.
Saba, A. & Coetzee, J. (2018, October 5). The future of the middle class is bleak. Mail & Guardian.
Staff Writer. (2018, October 8). 5 important things happening in South Africa today. Business Tech.
Swingler, H. (2018, March 23). SALDRU: Rebooted and on a mission. UCT News.
Turok, I. & Visagie, J. (2018). Moving to cities uplifts hundreds of thousands, even in difficult times. HSRC.
van der Merwe, M., Ngalo, A., & Redelmeier, R. (2018, April 16). Youth Unemployment in Focus: When you’re job-hunting so long that you’re no longer young. Daily Maverick.
van der Merwe, P. (2018). Confidential Sars figures show wealth of super-rich is growing. Business Day.
Visagie, J. & Turok, I. (2018, April 26). Rural migrants better off in cities. Mail & Guardian.
Valley FM. (2018, May 8). Social grants will not solve inequality in South Africa. Valley FM.
Voice of the Cape. (2018, April 30). Research finds some strategies to reduce inequality in SA not sustainable. Voice of the Cape.
Africa Check – Do half of men and a third of women in South Africa smoke?
Africa Check was asked to verify the share of smokers in South Africa given a claim that half of men and a third of women smoke in South Africa. In the course of researching this, Naphtali Khumalo was directed to consult the NIDS data. Similar to findings from the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NIDS showed that about a third of men and a tenth of women smoke tobacco in South Africa. This, together with characteristics of the survey which served as the source of the claim, led Africa Check to conclude that the claim was incorrect. Read the full article.
Illicit cigarettes
An article in the Financial Mail by Tim Cohen goes in depth about illicit cigarette trade and amongst other considerations, the effect they have on SARS revenue. The article cites research by Nicole Vellios, Corne van Walbeek and Hana Ross which used data from the All Media & Products Survey (Amps) for 2002 to 2011 and NIDS for the years thereafter. Amongst other findings, the research found that illicit trade in cigarettes made up 40% of the total cigarette market in 2017. Read more (available for BL Premium subscribers).
2017
Boston University School of Medicine. (2017, October 2). Few South Africans receiving adequate diabetes care: study. Medical Xpress.
Brown, M. (2017, June 23). South Africans’ stories tell how the country is changing. Mail & Guardian.
Cape Talk. (2017, October 30). Almost 70% of South Africans live in poverty-study. Cape Talk.
Cape Talk. (2017, October 30). National income dynamics study looks at quality of life for South Africans. Cape Talk.
Chambers, D. (2017, December 28). Binge-drinking more prevalent than admitted. The Herald.
Chambers, D. (2017, December 27). SA has drunk status, and we’re afraid to admit it. Times Live.
Chowles, T. (2017, September 1). NHI Needs Medical Schemes to Survive. ehealthnews.
CNBC Africa. (2017, November 30). Ten Years of Research on South Africa’s Development. CNBC Africa.
Green, P. (2017, November 21). NIDS Survey: A glimpse over high walls, in a country where many don’t answer their doors. Daily Maverick.
Green, P. & Fourie, F. (2017, August 24). Poverty-beating informal sector needs clear policies. Business Day.
Gumede, M. (2017, July 2). Nirvana of private schools getting costly. Business Live.
Leibbrandt, M. & Zizzamia, R. (2017, October 2). Stable middle-class in SA may be smaller than thought, study shows. Business Day.
Makou, G. (2017, September 17). Do South African women earn 27% less than men? Africa Check.
Mangena, A. (2017, October 2). Batten Down The Hatches. Forbes Africa.
Mlatsheni, C. & Ranchhod, V. (2017, September 6). SA’s lost generation: Youth with no jobs and no hope. Business Day.
Polity. (2017, October 27). SAFTU: Long live the spirit of comrade OR Tambo. Polity.
Power FM. (2017, November 28). Moving to Cities Has Lifted Over 300, 000 South Africans Out of Poverty, Even in Difficult Times. Power FM.
Power FM. (2017, October 21). NIDS Campaign Telling South African Stories. Power FM.
Pretorius, L. (2017, August 8). Does SA’s private healthcare sector only serve 16% of the population? Africa Check.
Rabe, M. (2017, August 16). #WomensMonth: Social grants are sustaining families. IOL.
Radio Sonder Grense. (2017, June 23). SALDRU NIDS Radio Sonder Grense Interview. Radio Sonder Grense.
Reddy, V. Juan, A. & Hannan, S. (2017, January 13). Class of 2016’s mixed bag of results. Mail & Guardian.
Staff Writer. (2017, October 2). South Africa’s middle class is smaller than we think. BusinessTech.
Trapido, A. (2017, October 1). The bones don’t lie. City Press.
Turok, I. (2017, November 23). Moving to cities has lifted over 300 000 South Africans out of poverty.The Conversation.
Voice of the Cape. (2017, October 27). Access to services continue to improve in South Africa. Voice of the Cape.
2016
702 (2016, September 8). More educated youth has not reduced inequality – study. 702.
Alternative Information & Development Centre (AIDC). (2016, November, 9). Coal is key to resolving the drought – not wet wipes. AIDC.
Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME). (2016, September 7). South Africa: Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Launches National Income Dynamics Study, 8 Sept. South African Government.
Ellis, E. (2016, January, 11). State has plan to trim obesity by 10%. Business Day Live.
Green, P. (2016, June 8). South Africa is still a deeply traumatised country. Eyewitness News.
Green, P. (2016, February 9). The Forgotten Half: What about the students who didn’t make it to matric? Daily Maverick.
Jordaan, N. (2016, September 8). Middle-class South Africans fewer than estimated. Times Live.
Jordaan, N. (2016, September 8). Most South Africans are physically unfit, study reveals. Times Live.
Jordaan, N. (2016, September 12). South African income study tracks the poor getting poorer. Times Live.
Makou, G. (2016, October 24). Does mobile data devour a quarter of South Africans’ income? Africa Check.
Mgabadeli, S. (2016, September 8). Mining production down 5.4% y/y in July. Moneyweb.
News24. (2016). SA middle class still relatively small – study. All4Women.
Staff Writer. (2016, October 25). How #DataMustFall was a load of nonsense. MyBroadband.
Staff Writer. (2016, September 11). This is what it means to be middle class in South Africa. BusinessTech.
Stewart, D. (2016, April 18). HIV Testing Rates and the Effectiveness of Awareness Campaigns. MD Magazine.
The Marketing Site. (2016, October 5). Bringing together the theory and practice on Nation Branding. The Marketing Site.
The Marketing Site. (2016, October 6). Brand South Africa concludes inaugural University Dialogue. The Marketing Site.
City Press. (2016, November 11). Editorial: Plans galore, now use NDP to move along. City Press.
Vermaak, M. (2016, September 8). NIDS released in Pretoria. East Coast Radio.
Von Fintel, D. (2016, April 30). How unions have boosted pay, job security in democratic South Africa. The Conversation.
2015
Cloete, K. (2015, May 24). Cigarette taxes lead to big drop in smoking. UCT News.
Green, P. (2015, January 14). Analysis: Matric matters – but primary school matters more. Daily Maverick.
Green, P. (2015, October 26). Piketty in South Africa. The New Yorker.
Green, P. (2015, March 15). UCT’s NIDS initiative: South Africa by numbers. Daily Maverick.
Health-e News. (2015, August 11). Health-e News: SA’s food chain, a noose around women’s necks. Daily Maverick.
Issacs, G. (2015, August 25). South Africa’s 5 million working poor. GroundUp.
Jansen, L. (2015, July 24). New policy on pupil pregnancies. IOL News.
Leibbrandt, M. & Green, P. (2015, June 23). Op-Ed: Our new lost generation. Daily Maverick.
Molelekwa, J.T. (2015, March 3). South Africa: East Rand Community Unhappy About New Private Clinic. Health-e News.
2014
Greenberg, J. (2014, December 17). Missing data sinks U.S. and apartheid South Africa claim on black-white wealth gap. Politifact.
Khan, T. (2014, February 4). High blood pressure ‘runs rampant in SA. SAMed.
Kings, S. (2014, October, 14). Too many going hungry in the land of plenty. Mail and Guardian.
Moore, A. (2014, June 5). 8 Shocking Statistics That Prove Racism Is Alive And Thriving In South Africa. Atlanta Black Star.
Paton, C. (2014, July 16). Welfare grants help children walk taller. Business Day Live.
Pitso, R. & Magubane, K. (2014, June 12). South Africa failing the disabled. Business Day Live.
UCT News. (2014, September 22). Unique insights into South Africa's income dynamics. UCT News.
2013
Cohen, T. (2013, March 18). Manufacturing is really a part of the mining sector. Business Day Live.
Finn, A.; Leibbrandt, M.; Woolard, I. Lecture by Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy Chairperson: National Planning Commission (2013, September 10) What happened to multidimensional poverty in South Africa between 1993 and 2010? The National Development Plan Lecture, Wits University, Johannesburg.
Pharma Dynamics. (2013, May 3). SA doctors to tackle lifestyle diseases epidemic. Health24.
Pillay, V. (2013, December 3). SA’s poverty levels are decreasing, shows new study. Mail and Guardian.
Steyn, L. (2013, January 11). Measuring the waves of migration. Mail and Guardian.
Visagie, J. (2013, August 2). Income groups: Things are tight around the middle. Mail and Guardian.
2012
Chetty, L. (2012, May 31). The link between the environment, poverty and development in South Africa. Mail and Guardian.
UCT Newsroom. (2012, August 16). Roadmap needed for promised land. UCT News.
2011
Jones, M. (2011, June 20). Shock high school dropout rate. Cape Times.
Leibbrandt, M. (2011, May 27). Poverty and inequality research. Mail and Guardian.
Naidoo, K. (2011, September 16). Poverty and inequality in South Africa. Mail and Guardian.
2010
(2010, July 22). Pre-primary boost. Mail & Guardian.
Peters, M. (2010, September 26). UCT academic’s research into Aids orphans is tops. Sunday Independent.
2009
Hassen, E. (2009, June 23). Intelligent use of grant can erode poverty. Cape Times.
Mcevoy, C. (2009, June 29). SALDRU scoops NIDS tender. University of Cape Town: Daily News.
2008
Gumede, V. (2008, March 6). In for long haul to get to grips with social change. Business Day.
Wittstock, C. (2008, April 6). Measuring the quality of life. Sunday Independent.
Wittstock, C. (2008, April 6). National wellbeing study first of its kind in country. Sunday Argus.
2007
Mbeki, T. (2007, February 9). Full text of Mbeki’s State of Nation speech.
Scott, C. (2007, January 3). Ambitious study to track poverty in SA. Mail and Guardian.
2006
Grawitzky, R. (2006, October 25). First national income study takes off in 2007. The Star.
The Presidency. (2006, November 3). Press statement on the initiation of a National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS).