Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with poverty and inequality in Mozambique and with the link of education to wellbeing
through the labour market. Earlier studies that analysed well-being in Mozambique drew
counter-intuitive conclusions about the spatial distribution of poverty and inequality. They focused
excessively on money-metric indicators of well-being and adjusted the poverty line so as to make it
reflect taste and price differentials across regions. This thesis suggests the use of a wealth index
based on asset holdings and derived by employing Multiple Correspondence Analysis to support the
money-metric results. If results are not also confirmed by other indicators of well-being, one should
be sceptical of simply unquestioningly applying best practice approaches. In this thesis the moneymetric
results drawn by earlier studies are not confirmed by this other indicator of well-being.
Since education is a policy lever that can be used to influence the existing patterns of poverty and
inequality, one needs to understand how it operates through the labour market in improving wellbeing.
Developing and poor economies such as Mozambique are characterised by a very segmented
labour market and by a small wage sector. A large proportion of the working-age population is
engaged in subsistence agriculture and self-employment activities. Using a multinomial logit model
this thesis demonstrates that schooling has an influence on the choice of employment segment. For
instance, schooling increases an individual’s chances of getting a public sector job, but lowers his or
her chances of falling into self-employment activities. This study also links schooling to earnings. It
argues that when analysing the relationship between schooling and earnings in a poor developing
economy one should account for the multiple segmentation of the labour market as well as for
sample selection bias. To estimate the effects of schooling on earnings this thesis thus employs a
modified version of Dubin and McFadden’s model. It finds a positive association between
education and earnings in the public wage sector, the private wage sector and in the selfemployment
segment. Convex returns to education are also found, and accounting for selectivity
bias does improve the earnings functions relative to those based on ordinary least squares
regressions.
Education quality has a bearing on an individual’s performance in the labour market and therefore
affects the role of education in alleviating poverty. Thus, this thesis identifies the correlates of
education quality in Mozambique. Employing education production functions based on ordinary
least squares multivariate regressions it finds that most of the correlates of educational achievement
suggested by the literature are indeed associated with educational outputs. Employing Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition techniques often used in labour studies to study earnings discrimination, the
thesis attempts to explain the reasons behind the average deterioration in education quality in
Mozambique. The initial hypothesis on this matter was that the average deterioration in education
quality over time was associated with the increase in the proportion of pupils from low socioeconomic
backgrounds. This hypothesis, however, is not confirmed. Likely explanations include the
decline in the efficiency of the education system and more lenient pupil promotion policies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif handel oor armoede en ongelykheid in Mosambiek en die effek van onderwys op
welsyn deur die arbeidsmark. Vroeëre studies het gevolgtrekkings oor welsyn in Mosambiek getrek
wat nie met intuïsie oor die ruimtelike verdeling van armoede en ongelykheid strook nie. Sulke
studies het slegs geldelike maatstawwe van welsyn gebruik en die armoedelyn aangepas om pryse
en smaak in verskillende streke te reflekteer. Hierdie tesis stel die gebruik van nie-geldelike
maatstawwe voor om geldelike maatstawwe aan te vul, en spesifiek ’n bate-indeks van welsyn wat
verkry word deur die gebruik van Veelvuldige-Korrespondensie-Analise. Daar is rede tot
skeptisisme wanneer die sogenaamde ‘beste’ metode vir die berekening van geldelike maatstawwe
sonder bevraagtekening gebruik word en die resultate nie deur ander indikatore van welsyn bevestig
word nie.
Aangesien onderwys ’n beleidsinstrument bied om bestaande patrone van armoede en ongelykheid
te beïnvloed, is dit nodig om te verstaan hoe dit deur die arbeidsmark werk om welsyn te verbeter.
Ontwikkelende en arm ekonomieë soos Mosambiek word gekenmerk deur ’n baie gesegmenteerde
arbeidsmark en ’n klein loonsektor. Groot persentasie van die bevolking van werkende ouderdom
is by onderhoudslandbou en ander self-indiensneming betrokke. Veelvoudige-logit-model toon
hoe opvoeding die keuse van indiensnemingsektor beïnvloed. Onderwys verhoog byvoorbeeld
iemand se kanse om pos in die openbare sektor te kry, maar verlaag die waarskynlikheid van selfindiensneming.
Die studie koppel verdienste ook aan onderwys. Daar word aangevoer dat die groot
arbeidsmarksegmentasie en seleksie-sydigheid in berekening gebring moet word wanneer die
verband tussen onderwys en lone in arm ontwikkelende land bestudeer word. Dus word
aangepaste vorm van Dubin en McFadden se model in hierdie proefskrif gebruik om die effek van
onderwys op verdienste te bereken. Positiewe verband bestaan tussen onderwys en lone in die
openbare loonsektor, die private loonsektor en self-indiensname. Die opbrengsstruktuur op
onderwys is konveks, en inagneming van seleksie-sydigheid verbeter die verdienstefunksies relatief
tot gevalle wat net op gewone kleinste-kwadrate-regressies gebaseer is.
Onderwysgehalte het invloed op persoon se vertoning in die arbeidsmark en raak daarom die
rol van onderwys in armoedeverligting. Faktore wat met onderwysgehalte in Mosambiek verband
hou word dus geïdentifiseer. Die gebruik van gewone-kleinste-kwadrate-veelvoudige-regressies in
onderwysproduksiefunksies toon dat die meeste van die bepalende faktore wat in die literatuur
genoem word inderdaad met onderwysuitsette verband hou. Deur gebruik van Oaxaca-Blinder dekomposisie-tegnieke – wat meer dikwels gebruik word om arbeidsmarkdiskriminasie te ontleed –
word gepoog om die redes vir die agteruitgang van gemiddelde onderwysgehalte in Mosambiek te
verklaar. Die aanvanklike hipotese hieroor was dat die agteruitgang in die gemiddelde vertoning
deur die toename van leerlinge van laer sosio-ekonomiese agtergrond verklaar sou kon word.
Ontleding van die data bevestig egter nie hierdie hipotese nie. Moontlike verklarings sluit in
agteruitgang in die doeltreffendheid van die onderwysstelsel en minder streng beleid rakende
promosie van leerlinge na hoër grade.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/71857 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Da Maia, Carlos Chadreque Penicela |
| Contributors | Van der Berg, Servaas, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 182 p. : ill., maps |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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