Inter-generational transfer of poverty: fact or fiction (1993-2004)

Democracy opened the door for transformation in South Africa. In the past decade, various laws, policies and programmes have been implemented with the aim of putting into effect the principles of the new South African Constitution and the Bill of Rights, with the aim of improving the lives of the people of South Africa. Poverty alleviation moreover stands central in national and international policy frameworks. The Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGISA), amongst others, has the ultimate objective of halving poverty in South Africa by 2014. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of- and how income poverty is transferred from one generation to another. Data from the Kwazulu-Natal Income Dynamics Study (KIDS), which interviewed a panel of African and Indian households from Kwazulu-Natal are used for this purpose. Panel- as well as cross-sectional data analyses are employed to learn about these main determinants of- as well as how the poverty status of one household influences that of the next generation.