Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Life expectancy in South African has been fluctuating following the global trends that affects both developed and developing countries.In South Africa the average life expectancy from 1994 to 1996 was higher with an average of 61,3 years.As from 1997 to 1999 it declined to an average of 58,4 years.The difference in years between 1994-1996 and 1997-1999 was 2,9 years.From 2000-2002, life expectancy continued to decline to an average of 54,6 years.Life expectancy declined in a constant proportion from 2003-2005 and 2006-2008.In 2003-2005 it slightly declined to 52 years and in 2004-2007 it declined to 42,0 years.Life expectancy escalated after the mentioned years to 54,4 years between 2009-2011 and from 2012-2013 lifeexpectancy was 54,0 years on average.This study examined factors or variables that verify the socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy in post-apartheid South Africa.Understanding the relationship between life expectancy and the socioeconomic variables was based on three objectives.The main objective for this study was to determine the impact of socioeconomic variables and health policy efforts on life expectancy, seeking an in-depth understanding by investigating the causality relationship between life expectancy and socioeconomic variables thus later investigating the difference between male and female's life expectancy.This study was motivated by the fluctuating life expectancy in South Africa.The fluctuation in life expectancy were thus studied in relation to socioeconomic determinants which are government health expenditure, government education expenditure, GDP per capita, total fertility rate, urban population, access to sustainable drinking water and undernourishment.The mentioned variables were used as socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy during postapartheid South Africa.Data from the World Bank was used.Econometric models such as the vector error correction model (VECM), vector autoregressive (VAR), Granger causality and the independent t-test were used as the main results for estimation.The Augmented dicker-fuller and Johansen cointegration test were used as preliminary results for the above-mentioned test with Wald test, LM test, Stability diagnostics and normality test used as the confirmatory test results.It is evident that the socioeconomic variables have both along and short run relationship with life expectancy.Variables under study were stationary under the inverse root test and unit root test.A percentage change in government education expenditure, per capita GDP and access to sustainable water was associated with a percentage increase in life expectancy have an impact to life expectancy.Access to sustainable water, prevalence to undernourishment and total http://etd.uwc.ac.za/ v | P a g e fertility rate showcased a granger causal relationship with life expectancy.Life expectancy and prevalence to undernourishment have a bidirectional causal relationship.From the results it was evident that a bidirectional relationship occurred for most variables with a unidirectional flow occurring for some of the variables.An access to sustainable water does not granger cause life expectancy whereas life expectancy was indicated to granger cause an access to sustainable water.The total fertility rate granger caused life expectancy and life expectancy had no causal relationship with total fertility rate.A bi-directional relationship was evident between life expectancy and undernourishment, these variables granger caused each other.The socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy led the study to concluding that females tend to have a higher life expectancy than that of males.
Author: Uviwe Binase
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Research Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2949016848