It is widely acknowledged that poverty has declined globally over the last few years. In fact, this
idea has become so ingrained in our society that it is almost taken for granted and assumed as
an incontestable fact. The question that remains unanswered is where all the poor are now. Are
they living a prosperous life or are they tinkering on the edge of poverty? This research study
focuses on the precarious non-poor, who are the people surviving just above Upper Bound
Poverty Line used by Statistics within South Africa. Although they are not ‘officially poor’ they are
still a group that is often overlooked or ignored within the global development community since
they are not poor enough to warrant intervention yet not secure enough to demand action. As
the research study will show through using a mixed-method approach, they are far from being
prosperous and in fact, still struggling to survive. The quantitative findings are based on a
statistical analysis of the General Household Survey (2011) that overlaps with the latest Income
and Expenditure Survey (2011). It gives valuable background to the problem that was also used
during the qualitative phase of the research study to inform the sample choice and interview
guide. The quantitative analysis shows that the precarious non-poor is not a unique problem, and
as a group, they are found across South Africa. The qualitative findings are based on in-depth
interviews conducted in Cape Town, Western Cape and Newcastle, KwaZulu Natal. Framed by
the capability approach, set out by Amartya Sen, and a focus on basic capabilities such as
employment, education and housing, the results show that the precarious non-poor lack access
and choice in terms of capabilities and the opportunity to realise them into functionings. The
precarious non-poor in this study are mostly employed within insecure, uncertain or underpaying jobs, underpinned by a social support program, living in neighbourhoods where they feel unsafe
while trying to secure a better future for themselves and especially their children. In fact, they
are probably no better off than their poor counterparts with prosperity remaining out of reach. / Sociology / Ph. D. (Sociology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/27233 |
| Date | 01 1900 |
| Creators | Peens, Michelle |
| Contributors | Adesina, Jimi O. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (x, 300 leaves) : black and white illustration, color graphs, application/pdf |
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