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Social Indicators Research

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01.05.2008

The Non-Economic Quality of Life on a Sub-National Level in South Africa

verfasst von: Stephanié Rossouw, Wim Naudé

Erschienen in: Social Indicators Research | Ausgabe 3/2008

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Abstract

Most research on the non-economic quality of life have been (a) on a national level or performed on cross-country comparisons, and/or (b) used subjective indicators to measure how people perceive their non-economic quality of life. In this paper, our main contribution is to construct objective indicators of the non-economic quality of life for 354 sub-national magisterial districts in South Africa. We also compare changes in these indicators over time, and consider methodological issues in the construction of objective indicators of non-economic quality of life. We find that although income does matter for the overall quality of life, non-income components of the quality of life can make an important difference. We find a number of places with low incomes that have been able to achieve higher than expected outcomes in terms of the non-economic quality of life, and that some of the relative income poor areas have improved their non-economic ranking between 1996 and 2004. We also find that the geographical/environmental quality of life in South Africa is better in non-urban areas, where fewer of the country’s population is residing. Significant improvements in the overall quality of life may be achieved through improvements in the urban natural environment.

Vorheriger Artikel Investigating Regional Disparities of China’s Human Development with Cluster Analysis: A Historical Perspective

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For present purposes the terms quality of life, well-being and standard of living will be taken to be synonymous following Veenhoven (2004, p. 6).

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Titel: The Non-Economic Quality of Life on a Sub-National Level in South Africa
verfasst von: Stephanié Rossouw
Wim Naudé
Publikationsdatum: 01.05.2008
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Erschienen in: Social Indicators Research / Ausgabe 3/2008
Print ISSN: 0303-8300
Elektronische ISSN: 1573-0921
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9178-3

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