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Snakes and ladders and loaded dice: Poverty dynamics and inequality in South Africa between 2008 and 2017

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  • Simone Schotte
  • Rocco Zizzamia
  • Murray Leibbrandt

Abstract

Longitudinal surveys allow us to understand how markers of (dis)advantage determine present material welfare and economic upward or downward mobility over time. In this paper, we use five waves of panel data to empirically assess the extent and dynamics of poverty in South Africa between 2008 and 2017. Investigating the correlates of poverty entries and exits, we analyse how multidimensional inequalities in terms of household‐ and individual‐level characteristics relate to these dynamics and identify markers of vulnerability. We utilise these markers to classify the South African population into five strata characterised by their present and future risk to poverty.

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  • Simone Schotte & Rocco Zizzamia & Murray Leibbrandt, 2022. "Snakes and ladders and loaded dice: Poverty dynamics and inequality in South Africa between 2008 and 2017," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(2), pages 214-242, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:sajeco:v:90:y:2022:i:2:p:214-242
    DOI: 10.1111/saje.12308
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kishan Shah, 2022. "Diagnosing South Africa’s High Unemployment and Low Informality," CID Working Papers 138a, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    2. Simone Schotte & Rocco Zizzamia, 2023. "The livelihood impacts of COVID-19 in urban South Africa: a view from below," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-30, January.
    3. Loss, Georg & Naicker, Sara & Richter, Linda & Fink, Günther, 2024. "Early life determinants of social disparities among young adults: A longitudinal study in vulnerable communities in South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    4. Alexia Lochmann & Nidhi Rao & Martin A. Rossi, 2023. "The Long-Run Effects of South Africa’s Forced Resettlements on Employment Outcomes," Growth Lab Working Papers 194, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    5. Alexia Lochmann & Nidhi Rao & Martin A. Rossi, 2023. "The Long-Run Effects of South Africa’s Forced Resettlements on Employment Outcomes," CID Working Papers 141a, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    6. Alexia Lochmann, 2022. "Diagnosing Drivers of Spatial Exclusion: Places, People, and Policies in South Africa’s Former Homelands," CID Working Papers 140a, Center for International Development at Harvard University.

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