In this Covid-Generation working paper, Bianca Böhmer and Gabrielle Wills contribute new evidence on pandemic effects on reading scores and inequalities in reading in South Africa through an in-depth analysis of data from the 2016 and 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) – a Grade 4 reading comprehension assessment.
This is a broad focus area of RESEP research dealing with large scale issues of poverty and inequality, gender and youth, as well as social security and spending.
Development
The data from Wave 1 of NIDS-CRAM showed that women were disproportionately affected by the Covid- 19 crisis and the first month of the lockdown period in South Africa. Not only were they much more likely than men to lose their jobs between February and April or to work fewer hours compared to the pre-crisis period, they also took on a greater share of the additional childcare as a result of school closures and the suspension of all childcare services. In this policy paper, we use Wave 2 of NIDS-CRAM to explore how women and men have fared as the economy started to reopen and lockdown restrictions were relaxed.
The data from Wave 1 of NIDS-CRAM showed that women were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the first month of the lockdown period in South Africa. Not only were they much more likely than men to lose their jobs between February and April or to work fewer hours compared to the pre-crisis period, they also took on a greater share of the additional childcare as a result of school closures and the suspension of all childcare services.
A report stemming from NIDS-CRAM wave 1, a project consisting of work by a national consortium of 30 social science researchers from five South African universities. The consortium will conduct the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) over the course of May – December 2020. The NIDS-CRAM project exists to collect, analyze and disseminate data on a broadly representative sample of South African individuals, and to report on their employment and welfare in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report stemming from NIDS-CRAM wave 1, a project consisting of work by a national consortium of 30 social science researchers from five South African universities. The consortium will conduct the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) over the course of May – December 2020. The NIDS-CRAM project exists to collect, analyze and disseminate data on a broadly representative sample of South African individuals, and to report on their employment and welfare in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The overview and findings of NIDS-CRAM wave 1, consisting of work by a national consortium of 30 social science researchers from five South African universities. The consortium will conduct the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) over the course of May – December 2020. The NIDS-CRAM project exists to collect, analyze and disseminate data on a broadly representative sample of South African individuals, and to report on their employment and welfare in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first wave of the National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDSCRAM) provided strong evidence that there had been a drastic increase in both adult and child hunger in the survey months, May and June 2020, and that almost half of all households had on occasion run out of money for food during April 2020.
I use the latest (16 May) version of the OxCGRT dataset to answer three fairly common questions about COVID-19 in the South African context. The three questions are: (1) Is South Africa’s curve a relatively flat one? (2.) Does South Africa have ‘one of the toughest lockdowns on earth’? (3.) How do restrictions and ‘flattening the curve’ relate to each other, and where does South Africa fit in?
Good policymaking requires reliable, comparable statistics over time. Despite there being an annual survey of agricultural firms in South Africa, confusion exists about the number of commercial farms in South Africa and the structure of the agricultural sector. According to the agricultural census in 2007, there were 39 966 commercial farms, while the agricultural survey mentions a figure of 64 192 and 57 126 in 2008 and 2017, respectively. With such diverging numbers across time, which figures should we trust and how does one analyse trends in the sector and make evidence-based decisions?
Many have to fall back on that familiar South African last resort, the extended family. It will take some time before the full effect of Covid-19, the lockdown and recession will be clear, writes Servaas van der Berg.
Using a dataset known as the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), RESEP’s Martin Gustafsson assesses the South African response to COVID-19 relative to that of 139 other nations.
How does South Africa’s Covid-19 response compare globally? A preliminary analysis using the new OxCGRT dataset A 19 May 2020 update of aspects of…
Qu, H., Steinberg, R. and Burger, R., 2019. Abiding by the Law? Using Benford’s Law to Examine the Accuracy of Nonprofit Financial Reports. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, p.0899764019881510.
Burger, R., Dang, C.T. and Owens, T., 2017. Better performing NGOs do report more accurately: Evidence from investigating Ugandan NGO financial accounts (No. 2017-10).
Booysen, M.J., Visser, M. and Burger, R., 2019. Temporal case study of household behavioural response to Cape Town’s “Day Zero” using smart meter data. Water Research, 149, pp.414-420.
On May 27, 2019, RESEP and uMama of Stellenbosch University, Bath University and the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements hosted a symposium on subsidised housing at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS).
Burger, R., Owens, T. and Prakash, A., 2018, October. Global Non-Profit Chains and the Challenges of Development Aid Contracting. In Nonprofit Policy Forum (Vol. 9, No. 4). De Gruyter.
Using satellite data to track socio-economic outcomes: a case study of Namibia
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP12/2018Efforts to improve the livelihoods of the poor in sub-Saharan Africa are hindered by data deficiencies. Surveys on socio-economic outcomes, for example, are generally conducted infrequently and are only statistically representative for relatively large geographic areas
The effect of old age pensions on child deprivation: revisiting the role of gender
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP13/2017Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP13/2017 Publication date: October 2017 Abstract: Existing work suggests that the South African state old age pension, through, increasing female…
Gender, Self-concept and Mathematics and Science Performance of South African Grade 9 Students
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP10/2017Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP11/2017 Publication date: October 2017 Abstract: Despite improvements over the past decade, South African women continue to be underrepresented in…