Study title

The dataset consists of two exposure indices which were developed to reflect people's lived experience of inequality in South Africa. The two indices measure exposure to socio-economic inequality from the perspectives of the 'poor' and the 'non-poor', respectively. Both exposure indices are presented at 'Datazone' neighbourhood level and are based on data derived from the South African 2001 Census.

This project is a collaboration between researchers from the Centre for the Analysis of South African Social Policy (CASASP) at the University of Oxford and the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). The main aim of the project is to investigate whether citizens' attitudes to inequality in South Africa are associated with their experience of inequality at the local level. Analyses will be undertaken using two currently under-utilised micro-datasets in South Africa. Attitudinal perspectives on inequality will be explored using the nationally representative South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS). The unequal spatial distribution of poverty and deprivation will be explored using the South African Indices of Multiple Deprivation (SAIMD) which are derived from the 2001 Census and the 2007 Community Survey (CS 2007). The analysis of these microdata will be used to gain a better appreciation of the spatial patterns of poverty, deprivation and inequality, the nature and distribution of attitudes to economic inequality and redistribution, and importantly the relationship between them. The project will also build quantitative data analysis skills among social researchers in South Africa. The findings will be used to promote discussion about policies and programmatic interventions to address deprivation, poverty and inequality.