Browsing by Author "Muller, Colette Lynn."

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An analysis of household and government spending on education in South Africa.
(2021) Sejake, Alice Tlalane.; Muller, Colette Lynn.
Education is one of the largest components of government spending across developing and developed countries. Differences in spending on education are often cited as the key contributors to achievement gaps between countries and individuals in the same country. In South Africa, education has been central to government’s socio-economic redistributive policies following the end of apartheid. The problem of insufficient funding particularly for higher education combined with a high demand for education have led to shared costs between households and government. To this effect, the study analyses the relative roles of spending across schooling levels between households and the government. The study further examines attendance and expenditure pattens on education between private and public institutions. Using household level data from the South African Living Conditions Survey 2014/2015, Tobit regressions using a number of household characteristics (such as the gender of the household head, their employment status, population group, level of education, the number of children attending and settlement type of the household) are estimated to examine if and to what degree the determinants of educational expenditure differ by income groups. In addition, income elasticities of education spending are calculated to determine the sensitivity of household’s spending to changes in income. The results show that spending of richer households on education is likely to be more sensitive to changes in household income than poorer households.
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.
Differences in hourly earnings across Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
(2015) Mpungose, Sakhile Keith.; Muller, Colette Lynn.
Researchers have long noticed the existence of wage differentials across metropolitan areas and researchers have documented wage differentials across metropolitan areas to be due to differences in the employment and industrial structures of regional economies. This paper aims to examine differences in hourly earnings across Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, which are the largest metropolitan areas of South Africa. In doing, the study uses pooled cross-sectional data from the Labour Force Survey, which is a household-based sample survey collected by Statistics South Africa and data is pooled from the years 2005 to 2007. The study estimates a standard wage equation through Ordinary Least Squares and by controlling for metro dummy variables only; Results suggest there are significant differences in hourly earnings across the three metropolitan areas. However by including observable characteristics, results suggest there are no significant differences in hourly earnings between Johannesburg and Cape Town whilst difference in earnings between Johannesburg and Durban still persist. The study uses the Oaxaca Blinder decomposition to decompose the mean difference in hourly earnings into a part that is explained by observable characteristics and into part that is unexplained. Oaxaca Blinder decomposition results suggest that the mean difference in hourly earnings between Cape Town and Johannesburg is 13.8 percent, the mean difference in hourly earnings between Johannesburg and Durban is 26.9 percent and the mean difference in hourly earnings between Cape Town and Durban is 44.4 percent. Overall, differences in earnings across the three respective metropolitan areas can be attributed to both varying returns to observable characteristics and discrimination.
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.
Wellbeing in South Africa: regional economic disparities, conspicuous consumption, and the provision of infrastructure.
(2023) Mpungose, Sakhile Kieth.; Muller, Colette Lynn.; Dobreva, Ralitza Vassileva.
This thesis investigates the correlates of subjective well-being in South Africa, with a focus on the role of location, and specifically the impact of regional differences, conspicuous consumption, and access to public infrastructure in South Africa (SA). This thesis contributes to the body of welfare economics in SA by addressing three sets of aspects of well-being. The first of these (Chapter 3) is about individual differences in subjective well-being (SWB) across regions. This chapter makes use of five waves of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) and the Quantac EasyData, corresponding to the NIDS waves. Using a combination of pooled ordered probit (POP), pooled ordinary least squares (POLS), and fixed-effects (FE) estimation, the overall finding from the first study shows that individual SWB differs across regions. Individuals located in urban district municipalities and economically thriving provinces report higher levels of individual SWB relative to individuals located in economically deprived regions. The second aspect (Chapter 4) examines the effect of conspicuous consumption by others on individual well-being. Using all five waves of the NIDS data, the findings suggest that, after controlling for comparator expenditure at the cluster and district level, conspicuous consumption by others at the district level decreases individual SWB after controlling for other important correlates of SWB. Also, it is worth mentioning that the findings differ depending on the proximity of the reference group. The findings suggest that individual SWB is negatively sensitive to conspicuous consumption by others that occurs in distant proximities, as opposed to close proximities. The third part (Chapter 5) examines the effect of access to public infrastructure on individual SWB. Access to infrastructure is measured by the distance individuals travel to the nearest educational, healthcare, and police service facility. Using data from the Living Conditions Survey (LCS) 2014/2015, the overall findings show that the effect of access on individual SWB differs across the various kinds of infrastructure facilities. Furthermore, long distances travelled to access public infrastructure pose a significant barrier for vulnerable segments of the population. Therefore, the government’s policy framework and commitment should be invigorated towards improving structural and systemic factors that hamper effective access to infrastructure. IQOQA Lo mbhalo wocwaningo uphenya ngenhlalakahle abantu ngabanye abazibona benayo eSouth Africa, ugxila endimeni edlalwa yindawo abahlala kuyo, ikakhulukazi umthelela wokwehluka kwezindawo, ukuthenga izinto ezibizayo kanye nokukwazi ukusebenzisa izingqalasizinda zomphakathi eSouth Africa (SA). Lo mbhalo wocwaningo unezela engqikithini yocwaningo olumayelana nendlela ukwabiwa kwemikhiqizo okuchaphazela ngayo inhlalakahle yomphakathi eSouth Africa (SA) ngokukhuluma ngezinto ezintathu eziphathelene nenhlalakahle. Okokuqala (Isahluko 3) kumayelana nokwehluka komuntu ngamunye endleleni achaza ngayo inhlalakahle yakhe, isubjective well-being (SWB) ezifundeni zonkana. Lesi sahluko sisebenzisa amahlandla amahlanu endlela yocwaningo olwaziwa njengeNational Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) kanye neQuantac EasyData, ehambisana namahlandla e-NIDS. Kusetshenziswa inhlanganisela yokuhlaziya imiphumela emibili, ipooled ordered probit (POP), indlela esetshenziswayo engavezi imiphumela ebonakalayo, ipooled ordinary least squares (POLS), kanye nendlela yokulawula uguquko, ifixed-effects (FE), kanti sekukonke okutholakele ocwaningweni lokuqala kubonisa ukuthi i-SWB ngayinye iyahluka ezifundeni ezihlukahlukene. Abantu abahlala komasipala bezifunda zasemadolobheni nasezifundazweni ezithuthukayo kwezomnotho babika amazinga aphezulu e-SWB yabantu ngabanye uma kuqhathaniswa nabantu abahlala ezindaweni ezintulayo kwezomnotho. Isici sesibili (Isahluko 4) sihlola umthelela wokuthenga izinto ezibizayo okwenziwa abanye okunawo enhlalakahleni yomuntu ngamunye. Kusetshenziswa imininingo eqoqwe kuwo womahlanu amahlandla e-NIDS, okutholakele kuveza ukuthi, ngemuva kokulawula izindleko zokuqhathanisa ezingeni leqoqo nelesifunda, ukuthenga izinto ezibizayo okwenziwa abanye esifundeni kuyayinciphisa i-SWB yomuntu ngamunye ngemuva kokulawulwa kwezinye izinto ezibalulekile ezinomthelela ku-SWB. Kufanelekile nokusho ukuthi okutholakele kuyehluka kuye ngokuthi asondelene kangakanani amaqembu okubhekiselwa kuwo. Okutholakele kuveza ukuthi i-SWB yomuntu ngamunye iyachaphazeleka nalapho abanye bethenga izinto ezibizayo ezindaweni eziqhelile, ngokungafani nasezindaweni eziseduze. Ingxenye yesithathu (Isahluko 5) ihlola umphumela okuba nawo ukufinyelela kuzingqalasizinda zomphakathi ku-SWB yomuntu ngamunye. Ukufinyeleleka kuzingqalasizinda kukalwa ngebanga umuntu alihambayo lapho eya ezikhungweni zemfundo, ezikhungweni zezempilo nasesiteshini samaphoyisa esiseduze. Kusetshenziswa imininingo evela kuhlolovo eyaziwa ngokuthi yiLiving Conditions Survey (LCS) 2014/2015, ingqikithi yalokho okutholakele iveza ukuthi ukufinyelela ezinhlotsheni ezahlukahlukene zezingqalasizinda kunomthelela ongefani endleleni umuntu ngamunye achaza ngayo inhlalakahle yakhe. Ngaphezu kwalokho, amabanga amade ahanjwayo ukuze kufinyelelwe kuzingqalasizinda zomphakathi ayingqinamba enkulu kubantu abantulayo. Ngakho-ke, uhlaka lwenqubomgomo kahulumeni nokuzibophezela kwakhe kufanele kufakwe umfutho ukuze kuthuthukiswe izakhiwo nezinhlelo ezikhinyabeza imizamo yabantu yokufinyelela kuzingqalasizinda.