abstract: 'One of the most important policy objectives in the post-apartheid South

  African economy is to reduce poverty. Although economic growth and job

  creation are the preferred sources of alleviating poverty and

  inequality, social grant spending has contributed significantly to

  reduce poverty (Van der Berg et al. in Poverty trends since the

  transition: what we know. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers: 19/09.

  Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2009). Recently proposals were

  tabled by the Department of Social Development of South Africa (Fin24 in

  R3.3bn plan to extend child support grant to 21.

  http://www.fin24.com/Economy/R33bn-child-care-grant-extension-to-21-on-c

  ards-20150316. Accessed August 7, 2015, 2015) to extend the age

  eligibility of the child support grant (CSG) to 21 years (at the time of

  writing children aged up to 18 years are eligible). This sparked an

  interest to investigate the impact on poverty of changes to the

  eligibility criteria of CSG, as well as its fiscal implications. Using

  person and household data from the 2010/2011 Income and Expenditure

  Survey, various simulations are performed to assess the impact on

  poverty rates and changes to social spending, given the following

  changes: (1) if all age-eligible children applied; (2) if all

  beneficiaries received the grant amount for the full 12-month duration;

  (3) if the age eligibility criterion is extended; and (4) if the monthly

  child grant income amount is revised upwards. We also examine how

  changes in the eligibility criteria affect the income distribution.'
affiliation: 'Yu, D (Corresponding Author), Univ Western Cape, Dept Econ, Private
  Bag X17, ZA-7535 Bellville, South Africa.

  Beukes, Rochelle; Moses, Mariana; Yu, Derek, Univ Western Cape, Dept Econ, Private
  Bag X17, ZA-7535 Bellville, South Africa.

  Jansen, Ada, Stellenbosch Univ, Dept Econ, Private Bag X1, ZA-7602 Matieland, South
  Africa.'
author: Beukes, Rochelle and Jansen, Ada and Moses, Mariana and Yu, Derek
author-email: 'rgallant01@gmail.com

  ada@sun.ac.za

  mmoses@uwc.ac.za

  dyu@uwc.ac.za'
author_list:
- family: Beukes
  given: Rochelle
- family: Jansen
  given: Ada
- family: Moses
  given: Mariana
- family: Yu
  given: Derek
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1007/s11205-016-1433-z
eissn: 1573-0921
files: []
issn: 0303-8300
journal: SOCIAL INDICATORS RESEARCH
keywords: 'Child support grant; South Africa; Poverty; Simulations; Fiscal impact;

  Equity'
keywords-plus: SOUTH-AFRICA
language: English
month: NOV
number: '2'
number-of-cited-references: '32'
orcid-numbers: Jansen, Ada/0000-0003-1430-2221
pages: 511-529
papis_id: 38b451d4bc6958236f6608fbe3a2ac60
ref: Beukes2017exploringeligibility
times-cited: '1'
title: Exploring the Eligibility Criteria of the Child Support Grant and its Impact
  on Poverty
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000413985000006
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '8'
volume: '134'
web-of-science-categories: Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary; Sociology
year: '2017'