Education as an analysis of Poverty Status of Households in Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

The lives of many South Africans have been profoundly influenced by the policies of the racially oppressive apartheid government that ruled the country from 1947 to 1994. The provision of basic services under the apartheid government was very poor, particularly for the greater Black majority living in rural homelands. As a result, the country has seen underdevelopment in human capital of the overwhelming majority of the population in rural areas, resulting in low levels of well-being and high levels of poverty and inequality that have persisted to this day. Using secondary data sets from the Living Conditions Survey (LCS) 2014/2015 conducted by Statistics South Africa, this research aims to analyse the role of education on the economic well-being status of households in Limpopo Province of South Africa. The official absolute income poverty line of R10 680 (lower bound) per capita per annum in 2021 prices were used. In order to establish the relationship between education, socio-economic factors and the poverty status of an individual or a household, a binary regression model was used. The results obtained revealed that lower educational attainment is associated with a higher prevalence of household poverty (low well-being status). Additionally, findings indicate that age, marital status and household status have a direct impact on well-being.