Answer to Question #242299 in Macroeconomics for vtg

Question

Discuss poverty and inequality in South Africa.

Answer 1

INEQUALITY

 Inequality levels in South Africa are not entirely caused and measured by income, but there exist other factors such as; gender, disabilities, origin, sexual orientation, class, and ethnicity.

 

Gender.

 Division of employment opportunities has created inequality. There has been a belief that men are far better in certain jobs than women.

 

 Technology.

 Research has shown that advancement in technology has favored the most skilled workers as it tends to improve their relative positions in the workplace. This has widened the gap between them and the less skilled. The gap between the rich and the poor has also increased following the shifting of focus to advanced economies where automation is already established.

 

POVERTY

 Close to half the number of the adult in South Africa live in poverty. According to research done, it was established that about 49.2% of those who have attained the majority age of 18 years live below the upper bound of the poverty line.

 According to South Africa's Conditions Survey, it was established that about 52.2% of the entire number of women in the country falls below the upper-bound poverty line. This clearly shows that women in the country are more vulnerable.

 Covid-19 has also had its share causing the poverty in the country to be worse with more than five hundred thousand cases as of August 13, 2020.

 Rural areas are more prone to poverty compared to urban areas. During the year 2015, about 25.2% of those living in urban areas lived below the upper-bound poverty line whereas close to 65.5% in rural areas lived below the upper-bound poverty line.