ABSTRACT

Understanding temporal and spatial variations of income diversification is important for developing policies aimed at reducing rural poverty. This study applied Simpson Index of Diversity (SID) to panel data from National Income Dynamics Study from 2008 to 2017 to investigate these variations across four provinces of South Africa. Findings point to the importance of disaggregating when analysing household income diversification. Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and North West had higher SID than the aggregated index, while Eastern Cape had lower degree of diversification. Contrary to other studies, this study found provinces with the highest and lowest income not having the highest degree of diversification. Over time, households diversified more, with SID increasing from 0.16–0.23 by 2017. The study recommends supporting households diversify their income. Specifically, the study recommends support for agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo, while in North West, provincial government should promote business ventures to improve household resilience.

摘要

了解收入多样化的时空变化对于制定旨在减少农村贫困的政策至关重要。这项研究将辛普森多样性指数（SID）应用于2008年至2017年国家收入动态研究的面板数据，以调查南非四个省的这些差异。研究结果指出，在分析家庭收入多样化时，必须进行分类。林波波河，夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省和西北地区的SID高于综合指数，而东开普省的多元化程度则较低。与其他研究相反，该研究发现收入最高和最低的省份的多元化程度最高。随着时间的推移，家庭更加多样化，到2017年SID从0.16-0.23上升。研究建议支持家庭使收入多样化。