Investigating the level of poverty and the means of survival among female-headed households in a South African Township

Abstract

The paper uses cross sectional survey data to analyse poverty among the female-headed households in a South African Township. Due to the multidimensionality of the term poverty, this study had to specifically adopt an income definition where households falling below their income poverty line were deemed poor. Binary logistic regression model was used to estimate the determinants of poverty. The dependant variable was the households’ economic status (poor and non-poor) and a set of socio-economic and demographic variables used as explanatory variables The results show that the household size, the age of the household head and total household income significantly explain variations in the likelihood of being poor. Different methods of survival were collected for each household. Results indicate several survival strategies, with some having long term health inferences, calling for immediate policy intervention.