Chronic Child Poverty and Health Outcomes in South Africa Using a Multidimensional Poverty Measure

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the differences in health outcomes between children residing in poor and non-poor households. In order to identify household poverty, I make use of the framework of multidimensional poverty as introduced by Alkire and Foster (Journal of Public Economics, 95(7–8), 2011). I follow the poverty status of children (defined as individuals aged 18 years or younger) over the period 2012- 2017, using the last three waves of the South African National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS). I find great disparities in health outcomes among children depending on the classification of the household as being poor or non-poor. In addition, children residing in households which are chronically poor (i.e. are observed to remain in poverty over time) have worse health outcomes than children residing in households which move in and out of poverty, pointing towards the negative effects of poverty traps. Finally, I rely on the previous work conducted by Wagstaff et al. (Journal of Public Health, 94(5), 726-736, 2004) to explore some of the household circumstances which may alleviate or exacerbate socio-economic child health inequalities in South Africa. These include access to the labour market, maternal education, water and sanitation, and social norms (which include the prevalence of female-headed households and the decision-making power of women in the household).