Determinants of household debt in South Africa
- Authors: Zimucha, Tinashe M
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Consumer credit -- South Africa Finance, Personal -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/7967 , vital:31325
- Description: Significant changes have occurred in South Africa during the past decades in household saving and borrowing behaviour. The rapid increase in South Africa’s household debt over the last twenty years has been an international phenomenon. In most countries, household debt increased from the 1990s until the crisis of 2007–2008 before stabilising due to a recession and deleveraging. The study used an ARDL model to investigate the determinants of household debt in South Africa. Pairwise regression is used to select the most relevant variables affecting household regression in the country. The results of the study showed that consumer confidence, the bond market index and the vulnerability index have a positive effect on household debt. As consumers' faith in the performance of the economy increases, household debt also increases as expected, reflecting consumers' belief in increased future wealth. The positive influence of the vulnerability index suggests that households tend to resort to borrowing to smooth consumption when incomes and other related factors decline. It is recommended that national policy should tighten regulations around access to unsecured credit to minimise the stress on already vulnerable households.
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Determinants of rail passenger transport usage : a case of Buffalo City Municipality
- Authors: Ntlatywa, Kholosa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Railroads -- South Africa -- Statistical services Transportation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Railroads -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8780 , vital:33580
- Description: The transport sector is an important contributor to South Africa’s economy. This sector have positive effects on South African citizens and the nation as a whole through mobility and accessibility. Rail transport is a suitable mode of transport for both long distance travel and short distances. This study investigated the determinants of rail passengers transport usage. The main objective of the study were to investigate the factors that influence the rail transport usage among passengers in Buffalo City Municipality. The second objective was to determine the incidence of rail transport usage among passengers in Buffalo City Municipality. Descriptive analysis in the form of Pearson-chi square and inferential analysis using Probit regression were used for data analysis in this study. The study used closed-ended questionnaires and the questionnaires were distributed to 100 people. The results of the study revealed that level of income, occupation, level of education, safety, and affordability are the common factors that influence the usage of trains for transport. The frequency of usage based on income was about 44 percent, with about 55 percent of people indicating they make use of trains because they find it a safe mode transport. The income level, safety, occupation and affordability were statistically insignificant. The level of education had a high frequency at 74 percent and it was statistically signifacant.004. The second part of the study assessed the incidence of train usage and results revealed that most of people (about 74 percent) travel by train daily.
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The impact of road construction on the livelihoods of rural communities : a case of Nyandeni Municipality in Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Ndesi, Zabambo Nale
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Roads -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8769 , vital:33542
- Description: All over the world many rural households are engaged in different economic activities to sustain their livelihoods. To a large extent, a household’s ability to do this depends on access to basic assets such as infrastructure, social, human, finance or physical. Access to these assets can be affected by large projects such as road construction which can either enhance or hinder access to key assets. The main objective of the study is to investigate the impact of the construction of the N2 Wild Coast Highway in the Eastern Cape Province on the livelihoods of rural households in the Nyandeni local municipality. The study also seeks to investigate the dominant household economic activities within the municipality, factors affecting the choice of these activities and the probable impact of the construction of the N2 highway on these economic activities and livelihood strategies. The road construction is translated as a ‘shock’ in the livelihood context, hence the study further seeks to document how households respond to road construction ‘shock’ to their livelihoods, based on the findings of the study. The study applied a mixed methods approach, applying both qualitative and quantitative data. Two sources of data are used; a survey of 40 households in the Nyandeni local municipality which provided the qualitative data and survey data from the PSPPD-II quantitative data from project conducted by the Economics department at the University of Fort Hare, which provided the quantitative data. The multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the livelihood strategies used as well as the related determinants. The results showed that financial, social and physical capitals are key assets that support livelihoods in Nyandeni municipality, which were highly determined by the deprivation score, social grants and community networks. To get a clearer understanding of the underlying effects of the road construction, focus prompts interviews were also conducted. These were analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that the road construction had both the negative and positive effects. The positive effects included better links to social facilities such as hospitals and schools as well as neighbouring municipalities. The construction also created employment for construction workers. In addition, the construction company helped households whose houses were destroyed near the road to build better houses. Although the households complained of danger from high speed vehicles because of better roads, they also indicated that the speed bumps in some areas led to an improvement in well-being especially for school children. The negative effects included destruction of burial grounds as well as the weakening of housing structures due to blasting. Further, some vegetation which was used by households as a source of livelihood was destroyed during road construction. In some cases, social capital assets were also disturbed as a result of the displacement that occurred in the process. Responses by households have been mixed, with some households taking advantage of increased access to markets as well as finances to find alternative sources of livelihoods. Households that responded negatively constantly seek out reimbursement from the government and construction company without much success.
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