This study investigated the demand patterns of poor households during a period of rising prices. Focus was on three main constructs namely the poor, rising prices and the demand patterns. The study was on Bophelong, a township in South Africa. This study was conducted from an empirical, quantitative approach which was preceded by a literature review. The main objective of conducting the literature review was to provide a theoretical framework for questionnaire design and empirical work. Cross sectional data was collected at Bophelong households. On completion of the survey, the poor were selected from the non-poor by means of a poverty line. The poor were further divided into two categories, namely moderately poor and the very poor. Moderately poor households were categorised by an income ranging 50% to 99% inclusively of their household poverty line. The very poor households were categorised by an income in the range of 0 to 49% inclusively of their poverty line. Using the above division, the total poverty rate was 56% of the total sample, 26% being moderately poor and 30% very poor. The poverty gap ratio for all the poor in the sample was 0.48, meaning that on average, the poor needed 48% of their current income to reach their poverty line. This ratio was 0.29 for the moderately poor households and 0.69 for the very poor households. A logistic regression done on the determinants of poverty in Bophelong showed that household size, age of the household head, monthly household income and the employment status of the household head were significant in determining poverty. The monthly average household income in Bophelong was R2 910. For the moderately poor households it was R1 641 for the and R932 for the very poor households. Household size was 3.96 for the whole sample size, 2.97 for the non-poor households, 4.2 for the moderately poor households and 4.7 for the very poor households. The study revealed that demand patterns of the poor differ from those of the non-poor. In addition the moderately poor households‟ demand patterns differ from the very poor An analysis of the poor‟s demand patterns during rising prices: the case of Bophelong household. The greatest part of income of the poor is spent on basic food stuffs. The very poor spent more than half of their income (53%) on food. The study indicated that bread is a giffen good only to the very poor households where quantity demanded moves in the same direction with price. In the non-poor households, bread is regarded inferior. A commodity can be overly a necessity, but the degree of necessity differs with a households‟ economic status. In some cases, a commodity was a necessity in the very poor households but a luxury in the non-poor. The way households substitute one good for another depends on their income levels. In conclusion, the study recommends that for poverty alleviation policies to effectively target the very poor in reducing malnutrition and hunger, these very poor should be studied separetely from the poor households. This is because households of different poverty levels face different challenges. A more detailed and deeper study relating to the demand structure of the poor is recommended. There is also a need to explore the survival means of the poor as to direct policy actions aimed at alleviating poverty among the poor in general. / Thesis (PhD (Economics))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Försäljningspriser på den svenska bostadsmarknaden tenderar att i allt högre grad avvika från fastighetsmäklarnas utgångspriser. En förklaring till detta är att fastighetsmäklare inte omedelbart anpassar sig till en stigande prisnivå. Syftet med denna uppsats är att förklara vilka faktorer hos bostadsrätter som är svåra för fastighetsmäklare att värdera i en marknad med stigande priser. Undersökningen är begränsad till att endast behandla fastighetsanknutna faktorer. Genom syftet vill vi bidra till en bättre förståelse kring hur köpares betalningsvilja skiljer sig från fastighetsmäklares värdering i en sådan marknad. För att uppnå syftet har en kombination av kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod använts. Undersökningen baseras på 112 bostadsrätter avyttrade under en tidsperiod av sex efterföljande kalendermånader i Karlstad, Sverige. Grunden till undersökningen är de utvalda bostadsrätternas objektsbeskrivningar. Genom analys av samtliga objektsbeskrivningar och respektive bostadsrätts prisutveckling utifrån utgångspris till försäljningspris har resultat kring faktorer som är svåra att värdera uppnåtts. Resultatet visar att nästan samtliga undersökta faktorer inom värdeteorin är överrepresenterade hos bostadsrätterna med hög prisutveckling. Den faktor med högst representation bland bostadsrätter med en hög prisutveckling är förekomsten av både kakel och klinker i badrum. Tidigare forskning visar att ett väl underhållet och modernt badrum är av stor vikt för köparen. Läget, som enligt teorin är den viktigaste faktorn för en bostads värde, visar i undersökningen inte lika hög överrepresentation hos bostadsrätter med hög prisutveckling mätt i avstånd till kommunikationsmedel och dagligvaruhandel. Detta behöver dock inte betyda att läget inte är den viktigaste värdeskapande faktorn, utan att fastighetsmäklare är väl medvetna om lägets betydelse och således kan värdera denna faktor rätt. Andra faktorer som ingått i undersökningen är antal rum, standard i kök, balkong/uteplats, våningsplan, utsikt över vatten, parkeringsmöjlighet, månadsavgift samt kakelugn/öppen spis. En slutsats är att fastighetsmäklare har svårt att, i en marknad med stigande priser, följa med i utvecklingen och utföra enligt marknaden korrekta värderingar. Undersökningen visar förekomsten av faktorer som fastighetsmäklare värderar korrekt samtidigt som det finns vissa faktorer med större betydelse för köpare, vilket bidrar till att försäljningspriset väsentligt avviker från utgångspriset. / The prices of residentials on the Swedish housing market tends to increasingly deviate from the list price. One explanation is that real estate agents not immediately adapt to the rising prices. The purpose of this paper is to describe the factors of condominiums which are especially difficult for real estate agents to valuate in a period with rising prices. This paper is limited to discribe only the factors related to the condominiums. By this purpose, we want to contribute to a better understanding of how customers’ willingness to pay differs from real estate agents valuation. To fulfill the purpose both a quantitative and a qualitative method has been used. The survey is based on 112 condominiums sold during a period of six following months in Karlstad, Sweden. The basis for the survey are the prospects of the selected condominiums. Through analysis of the prospects and the respective tenant price trends, results about specific factors difficult to valuate are achieved. The result shows that almost all investigated factors in the theory of value are overrepresented among the condominiums with high price trends. The factor that has the highest connection with a high price trend is the presence of both wall and floor tiles and/or clinker in the bathroom. Previous research says that a well-maintained and modern bathroom is important for the buyer. The location, which according to the theory is the most important factor for a residential value, does not show equal high connection according to the survey. This does not clearly mean that the location not is the most important value influcencing factor, rather that real estate agents are well aware of the importance of the location and therefore can valuate this factor correctly. Other factors involved in the survey are the number of rooms, standard in kitchen, presence of balcony/patio, storey, view, parking, the monthly fee and the presence of a stove/fireplace. A conclusion is that real estate agents faces difficulties that in a market with rising prices valuate residential properly and keep up with developments in the market. There are some factors that real estate agents are valuing correctly while other factors have greater importance for buyers and thus contribute to a significantly increase from the initial list price to the selling price.

This study investigated the demand patterns of poor households during a period of rising prices. Focus was on three main constructs namely the poor, rising prices and the demand patterns. The study was on Bophelong, a township in South Africa. This study was conducted from an empirical, quantitative approach which was preceded by a literature review. The main objective of conducting the literature review was to provide a theoretical framework for questionnaire design and empirical work. Cross sectional data was collected at Bophelong households. On completion of the survey, the poor were selected from the non-poor by means of a poverty line. The poor were further divided into two categories, namely moderately poor and the very poor. Moderately poor households were categorised by an income ranging 50% to 99% inclusively of their household poverty line. The very poor households were categorised by an income in the range of 0 to 49% inclusively of their poverty line. Using the above division, the total poverty rate was 56% of the total sample, 26% being moderately poor and 30% very poor. The poverty gap ratio for all the poor in the sample was 0.48, meaning that on average, the poor needed 48% of their current income to reach their poverty line. This ratio was 0.29 for the moderately poor households and 0.69 for the very poor households. A logistic regression done on the determinants of poverty in Bophelong showed that household size, age of the household head, monthly household income and the employment status of the household head were significant in determining poverty. The monthly average household income in Bophelong was R2 910. For the moderately poor households it was R1 641 for the and R932 for the very poor households. Household size was 3.96 for the whole sample size, 2.97 for the non-poor households, 4.2 for the moderately poor households and 4.7 for the very poor households. The study revealed that demand patterns of the poor differ from those of the non-poor. In addition the moderately poor households‟ demand patterns differ from the very poor An analysis of the poor‟s demand patterns during rising prices: the case of Bophelong household. The greatest part of income of the poor is spent on basic food stuffs. The very poor spent more than half of their income (53%) on food. The study indicated that bread is a giffen good only to the very poor households where quantity demanded moves in the same direction with price. In the non-poor households, bread is regarded inferior. A commodity can be overly a necessity, but the degree of necessity differs with a households‟ economic status. In some cases, a commodity was a necessity in the very poor households but a luxury in the non-poor. The way households substitute one good for another depends on their income levels. In conclusion, the study recommends that for poverty alleviation policies to effectively target the very poor in reducing malnutrition and hunger, these very poor should be studied separetely from the poor households. This is because households of different poverty levels face different challenges. A more detailed and deeper study relating to the demand structure of the poor is recommended. There is also a need to explore the survival means of the poor as to direct policy actions aimed at alleviating poverty among the poor in general. / Thesis (PhD (Economics))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

All over the world, the level of poverty is increasing. In South Africa it is mainly concentrated in rural areas and differs significantly from whether considering race, sex, provinces or community areas. This dissertation studies the relationship between poverty and inflation in Sharpeville by determining the impact of rising prices on the poor households in Sharpeville. The study focuses on three areas, namely the theoretical background of poverty and inflation, the impact of rising prices in expenditure patterns and the relationship to poverty. There are different approaches in defining poverty. Poverty can either be absolute or relative. For the purpose of this study, poverty is defined as absolute. Thus the study defines individuals as poor due to their inability to attain a minimum material standard of living. This minimal standard of living is normally referred to as the poverty line. Inflation may be defined in different ways. For the purpose of this dissertation, inflation is defined as the rise in the general price levels over a specific period of time. Changes in expenditure patterns are caused by an increase in inflation. This study uses the regression model to determine the impact of inflation on poverty in Sharpeville. According to the macroeconomic theory’s implication, the same level of inflation on the same basket of commodities has a different level of effect on each household. Accordingly, in this study, all households are assumed to be faced with the same inflation rate. Household size is positively related to poverty gap squared. This means that the more members there were in a household in Sharpeville the poorer they were. Households with the highest number of members were poorer than those with few members. Statistically, the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between household size and poverty gap is rejected, even at the 1% level of significance. EXPINFL is negatively related to poverty gap. The correlation matrix confirms the results in the regression analysis. The correlation coefficient between The relationship between poverty and inflation in Sharpeville Page EXPINFL and PGAP is -0.34467. Although it is relatively weak, the fact that there is a negative correlation confirms that inflation negatively affects poverty. Finally, the study recommends that government provides more job opportunities for the individuals without any source of income in Sharpeville. The government could also provide business funding to the unemployed individuals to enable them to start their own businesses. This would enable those individuals to create additional employment. In addition, measures should be introduced to determine the effect of inflation on those households who are not employed (that is, not receiving any form of income, not even through any form of grant), but do benefit from some form of feeding scheme administered by either government or non-profit organisations. / MCom, Economics, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

All over the world, the level of poverty is increasing. In South Africa it is mainly concentrated in rural areas and differs significantly from whether considering race, sex, provinces or community areas. This dissertation studies the relationship between poverty and inflation in Sharpeville by determining the impact of rising prices on the poor households in Sharpeville. The study focuses on three areas, namely the theoretical background of poverty and inflation, the impact of rising prices in expenditure patterns and the relationship to poverty. There are different approaches in defining poverty. Poverty can either be absolute or relative. For the purpose of this study, poverty is defined as absolute. Thus the study defines individuals as poor due to their inability to attain a minimum material standard of living. This minimal standard of living is normally referred to as the poverty line. Inflation may be defined in different ways. For the purpose of this dissertation, inflation is defined as the rise in the general price levels over a specific period of time. Changes in expenditure patterns are caused by an increase in inflation. This study uses the regression model to determine the impact of inflation on poverty in Sharpeville. According to the macroeconomic theory’s implication, the same level of inflation on the same basket of commodities has a different level of effect on each household. Accordingly, in this study, all households are assumed to be faced with the same inflation rate. Household size is positively related to poverty gap squared. This means that the more members there were in a household in Sharpeville the poorer they were. Households with the highest number of members were poorer than those with few members. Statistically, the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between household size and poverty gap is rejected, even at the 1% level of significance. EXPINFL is negatively related to poverty gap. The correlation matrix confirms the results in the regression analysis. The correlation coefficient between The relationship between poverty and inflation in Sharpeville Page EXPINFL and PGAP is -0.34467. Although it is relatively weak, the fact that there is a negative correlation confirms that inflation negatively affects poverty. Finally, the study recommends that government provides more job opportunities for the individuals without any source of income in Sharpeville. The government could also provide business funding to the unemployed individuals to enable them to start their own businesses. This would enable those individuals to create additional employment. In addition, measures should be introduced to determine the effect of inflation on those households who are not employed (that is, not receiving any form of income, not even through any form of grant), but do benefit from some form of feeding scheme administered by either government or non-profit organisations. / MCom, Economics, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012