Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Social Indicators Research
Published in: Social Indicators Research 3/2017

25-10-2016

Non-Economic Quality of Life and Population Density in South Africa

Authors: Talita Greyling, Stephanié Rossouw

Published in: Social Indicators Research | Issue 3/2017

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life. Popular opinion has generally been that population density can be seen as beneficial for economic growth, as it allows for greater productivity, greater incomes and can be translated into higher levels of quality of life. Recently though, growing evidence tends to suggest the exact opposite in that increases in productivity and incomes are not translated into better quality of life. As economic or income variables have always played a significant role in this research, questions regarding the relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life has largely remained unanswered. In this light, the paper utilises a panel data set on the eight metropolitan cities in South Africa for the period 1996–2014 to determine the relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life in the South African context. In the analyses we make use of panel estimation techniques which allows us to compare changes in this relationship over time as well as adding a spatial dimension to the results. This paper contributes to the literature by firstly studying the aforementioned relationship over time and secondly conducting the analyses at a sub-national level in a developing country. Our results show that there is a significant and negative relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life. Based on our findings policy measures to encourage urbanisation should not be supported if the ultimate outcome is to increase non-economic quality of life.
previous article The Comparative Inclusive Human Development of Globalisation in Africa
next article Ethnic Diversity and Health Outcomes

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
Centripetal are the three classic Marshallian sources of external economies; market size effects, thick labour markets and pure external economies.
 
2
Centrifugal forces include immobile factors, land rents and pure external diseconomies.
 
3
To see the formal definition of South Africa’s upper poverty line please visit Statistics South Africa at www.​statssa.​gov.​za/​publications/​Report-03-10-06/​Report-03-10-06March2014.​pdf.
 
4
City of Cape Town, EThekwini, Ekurhuleni, City of Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, City of Tshwane, Mangaung and Buffalo city.
 
5
Sahel is the semiarid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to the Sudan.
 
6
For the universe of 150 countries with population greater than 1 million, the correlation between population density (population per \(km^{2}\)) and GDP per capita in 1995 is 0.32.
 
7
In an urban setting, children are net economic costs: they are likely to attend school rather than contribute to household production, and because of urban mortality, are much less reliable as social security for aged parents. Moreover, the opportunity costs of raising children are much higher, especially if women are part of the urban labour force.
 
8
Due to a lack of environmental variables in our data set we were unable to test the effect of environmental factors on non-economic quality of life, though this is a very important matter that should be addressed in future research.
 
9
McGillivray (2005) uses a method explained in the Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators (OECD 2008) to construct the initial composite index of non-economic quality of life, to be used in further analyses, by applying PCA and saving the first extracted principal component which represents a weighted summary index of the original indicators.
 
10
Heterogeneity is the likelihood that there are important independent variables that are not included in a regression model but which are correlated with the dependent variable.
 
11
Panel data analysis can be divided into FE and RE methods. The FE method is designed to study the causes of changes within an entity such as a metropolitan city. The model estimates change in the dependent variable from changes in the independent variables (within group variation) and removes estimates of any variables that are time invariant being either observed or unobserved. In this manner the FE model, in particular, deals with unobserved heterogeneity. The main limitation of the FE method is that it can only incorporate the effect of variables that change over time, such as population density or the GDP per region, and not variables that are time invariant. Time invariant variables, however, can be estimated using RE techniques, as it uses both within group and between group variation.
 
12
We ran diagnostic tests for homoscedasticity and autocorrelation. To address heteroscedasticity, we made use of robust standard error estimations. No autocorrelation was detected. To test for multicollinearity we correlated all independent variables and found no correlation of more than 0.3.
 
13
The relationship between population density and number of households in a geographical region was also highlighted in among other Beckmann (1969), Cardillo et al. (2004) and Carlino and Mills (1987).
 
14
Accepted level of distortion.
 
Literature
Baltagi, B. H. (2008). Econometric Analysis of Panel Data. Hoboken: Wiley.
Beckmann, M. J. (1969). On the distribution of urban rent and residential density. Journal of Economic Theory, 1(1), 60–67.CrossRef
Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., & Fink, G. (2008). Urbanization and the wealth of nations. Science, 319(5864), 772–775.CrossRef
Buch, T., Hamann, S., Niebuhr, A., & Rossen, A. (2014). What Makes cities attractive? The determinants of urban labour migration in Germany. Urban Studies, 51(9), 1960–1978.CrossRef
Cahill, M. B. (2005). Is the human development index redundant? Eastern Economic Journal, 31(1), 1–5.
Cardillo, M., Purvis, A., Sechrest, W., Gittleman, J. L., Bielby, J., & Mace, G. M. (2004). Human population density and extinction risk in the world’s carnivores. PLoS Biology, 2(7), e197.CrossRef
Carlino, G. A., & Mills, E. S. (1987). The determinants of county growth. Journal of Regional Science, 27(1), 39–54.CrossRef
Carnahan, D., Gove, W., & Galle, O. R. (1974). Urbanization, population density and overcrowding: trends in the quality of life in Urban America. Social Forces, 53(1), 62–72.CrossRef
Clark, D., Kahn, J. R., & Ofek, H. (1988). City size, quality of life, and the urbanization deflator of the GNP: 1910–1984. Southern Economic Journal, 54(3), 701–714.CrossRef
Cramer, V., Torgersen, S., & Kringlen, E. (2004). Quality of life in a city: the effect of population density. Social Indicators Research, 69, 103–116.CrossRef
Davis, M. (2003). Planet of slums. New Perspectives Quarterly, 30(4), 11–12.CrossRef
Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1995). The wealth of nations revisited: Income and quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 36(3), 275–286.CrossRef
Erikson, R. (1993). Description of inequality: The Swedish approach to welfare research. In M. Nussbaum & A. Sen (Eds.), The Quality of Life. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Erikson, R., Hansen, E. J., Ringen, S., & UUsitalo, H. (1987). The Scandinavian Model: Welfare States and Welfare Research. New York: M. E Sharpe.
Fassio, O., Rollero, C., & De Piccolli, N. (2013). Health, quality of life and population density: a preliminary study on “contextualized” quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 110, 479–488.CrossRef
Flynn, P. (2000). Calvert-Henderson quality of life indicators. Bethesda: Calvert Group.
Gallup, J. L. Sachs, J. D. & Mellinger, A,D. (1999). Geography and economic development. International Regional Science Review, 22(2), 179–232.CrossRef
Glaeser, E. L. (2012). Triumph of the city: how our greatest invention makes us richer, smarter, greener, healthier and happier. New York: The Penguin Press.
Glaeser, E. L., & Gottlieb, J. D. (2006). Urban Resurgence and the Consumer City. Urban Studies, 43(8), 1275–1299.CrossRef
Glaeser, E.L & Shapiro, J.M. (2001). Is there a new urbanism? The growth of U.S. cities in the 1990s. Working Paper No. 8357, National Bureau of Economic Research.
Greyling, T. (2015). The expected well-being of urban refugees and asylum seekers in Johannesburg. The South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 19(2), 232–248.CrossRef
Greyling, T. & Tregenna, F. (2016). Construction and analysis of a composite quality of life index for a region of South Africa. Social Indicators Research, 1–44. doi:10.​1007/​s11205-016-1294-5.
Griffin, J. P. (1986). Well-being: its meaning, measurement and moral importance. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Griffin, J. P. (1991). Against the taste model. In Elster, J. & Roemer, J. Interpersonal comparisons of well-being. Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres, 45–69.
Husain, Z., Dutta, M., & Chowdhary, N. (2014). Is health wealth? Results of a panel data analysis. Social Indicators Research, 17(1), 121–143.CrossRef
Iverson, L. R., & Cook, E. A. (2000). Urban forest cover of the Chicago region and its relation to household density and income. Urban Ecosystems, 4(2), 105–124.CrossRef
Kanbur, R. & Venables, A. J. (2005). Rising spatial disparities and development. Policy Brief, 3. United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research, Helsinki.
Klasen, S. (2000). Measuring poverty and deprivation in South Africa. Review of income and wealth, 46(1), 33–58.CrossRef
Krugman, P. (1998). The Role of Geography in Development. Paper prepared for the Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics. Washington, 20–21.
Lambiri, D., Biagi, B., & Royuela, V. (2007). Quality of life in the economic and urban economic literature. Social Indicators Research, 84, 1–25.CrossRef
McGillivray, M. (1991). The human development index: yet another redundant composite development indicator? World Development, 19, 1461–1468.CrossRef
McGillivray, M. (2005). Measuring non-economic well-being achievement. Review of Income and Wealth, 51(2), 337–364.CrossRef
McGillivray, M., & Shorrocks, A. (2005). Inequality and multidimensional well-being. Review of income and wealth, 51(2), 193–199.CrossRef
McGillivray, M., & White, H. (1993). Measuring development? The UNDP’s human development index. Journal of International Development, 5(2), 183–192.CrossRef
Morris, D. (1979). Measuring the Conditions of the World Poor, the Physical Quality of Life Index. New York: Pergaman Press.
Naudé, W. A., Krugell, W. F., & Rossouw, S. (2009). The non-monetary quality of city life in South Africa. Habitat International, 33(4), 319–327.CrossRef
Osberg, L., & Sharpe, A. (2000). International Comparisons of Trends in Economic Well-being. New York: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association.
Pacheco, G. A., Rossouw, S., & Lewer, J. (2013). Do non-economic quality of life factors drive immigration? Social Indicators Research, 110(1), 1–15.CrossRef
Rahman, T., Mittelhammer, R.C. & Wandschneider, P. (2003). Measuring the quality of life across countries: A sensitivity analysis of well-being indices. Paper prepared for the WIDER International Conference on Inequality, Poverty and Human Well-being, Helsinki.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (1996). The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Richards, R., O’Leary, B., & Mutsonziwa, K. (2007). Measuring quality of life in informal settlements in South Africa. Social Indicators Research, 81(2), 375–388.CrossRef
Rojas, M. (2003). The multidimensionality of poverty: a subjective well-being approach. Helsinki, Finland. Paper prepared for WIDER international conference on inequality, poverty and human well-being, 30–31.
Rosen, S. (1979). Wage-based indexes of urban quality of life. In Current issues in urban economics, Mieszkowski, P. M., & Straszheim, M. R. 103–129. Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press.
Rossouw, S., & Naudé, W. A. (2008). The non-economic quality of life on a sub-national level in South Africa. Social Indicators Research, 86, 433–452.CrossRef
Rossouw, S., & Pacheco, G. (2012). Measuring non-economic quality of life on a sub-national level: A case study of New Zealand. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(3), 439–454.CrossRef
Sen, A. K. (1984). Rights and capabilities. In A. K. Sen (Ed.), Resources, values and development. Oxford: Blackwell Press.
Sen, A. K. (1996). On the foundations of welfare economics: utility, capability and practical reason. In F. Farina, F. Hahn, & S. Vannucci (Eds.), Ethics, rationality and economic behaviour. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Sirgy, M. J. (2012). The psychology of quality of life: Hedonic well-being, life satisfaction and eudemonia. Heidelberg: Springer.CrossRef
Statistics South Africa. (2015). The Labour Force Survey (LFS) for Q2 2015.
Sumner, A. (2003). Economic and non-economic well-being: A review on the progress on the meaning and measurement of poverty. Paper prepared for WIDER International Conference on Inequality, Poverty and Human Well-being, Helsinki.
Townsend, P. (1979). Poverty on the United Kingdom. London: Penguin.
Veenhoven, R. (1996). Happy Life-expectancy; A comprehensive measure of quality of life in nations. Social Indicators Research, 39, 1–58.CrossRef
Vyas, S., & Kumaranayake, L. (2006). Constructing socio-economic status indices: how to use principal components analysis. Health Policy and Planning, 21(6), 459–468.CrossRef
Walton, D., Murray, S. J., & Thomas, J. A. (2008). Relationships between population density and the perceived quality of neighbourhood. Social Indicators Research, 89, 405–420.CrossRef
Winsborough, H. H. (1965). The social consequences of high population density. Law and Contemporary Problems, 01(1965), 120–126.CrossRef
World Bank. (2001). Well-being measurement and analysis technical notes. Washington: World Bank.
Worthington, C., & Krentz, H. B. (2005). Socio-economic factors and health-related quality of life in adults living with HIV. International Journal of STD and AIDS, 16(9), 608–614.CrossRef
Zakerhaghighi, K., Khanian, M., & Gheitarani, N. (2015). Subjective quality of life; assessment of residents of informal settlements in Iran (a case study of Hesar Imam Khomeini, Hamedan). Social Indicators Research, 10, 419–434.
Metadata
Title
Non-Economic Quality of Life and Population Density in South Africa
Authors
Talita Greyling
Stephanié Rossouw
Publication date
25-10-2016
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Social Indicators Research / Issue 3/2017
Print ISSN: 0303-8300
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0921
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1468-1

Other articles of this Issue 3/2017

Social Indicators Research 3/2017 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Rural-to-urban Migration and Rising Evaluation Standards for Subjective Social Status in Contemporary China

OriginalPaper

Exploring Multidimensional Well-Being in Switzerland: Comparing Three Synthesizing Approaches

OriginalPaper

Construction and Validation of the Moral Inclusion/Exclusion of Other Groups (MIEG) Scale

OriginalPaper

Patterns of Time Use Across the Life Span in Korea: A Latent Class Analysis and Age and Gender Differences

OriginalPaper

The Role of Family Policy in Explaining the International Variation in Child Subjective Well-Being

OriginalPaper

Longitudinal Factor Analysis of Public Expenditure Composition and Human Development in Brazil After the 1988 Constitution