3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Estimation of retirement adequacy targets for one- and two-adult households from official South African data(2012-02-23) Butler, MeganRetirement adequacy targets provide an indication as to how much wealth is needed at retirement to provide for an adequate retirement income. These targets have design and strategy implications for social security systems and retirement funds and can be used by individuals to assess their preparedness for retirement. The primary aim of this research was to estimate retirement adequacy targets for one- and two-adult households from Statistics South Africa’s Income and Expenditure Survey 2005/2006. Retirement adequacy targets were expressed as wealth-earnings ratios, defined as the multiple of salary at retirement required for a comfortably adequate retirement. The targets would be sufficient to provide for the higher of the preretirement lifestyle or subsistence living. An important subsidiary aim was to examine consumption behaviour at and in retirement. Non-healthcare consumption was not found to change at retirement if income levels remained at pre-retirement levels. For certain households, healthcare expenditure may increase on retirement and may be funded from the contributions to retirement savings that are no longer required in retirement. The retirement adequacy targets decreased with retirement age but there was not a clear relationship between retirement savings rates and the targets. Retirement adequacy targets decreased with income but were complex functions of household composition, sex of the head of the household, type of settlement, age, home ownership and the retirement savings rate. Where household members retired at different times, the earnings of the younger person during the semi-retirement phase reduced the targets substantially. The retirement adequacy targets estimated implied that the replacement ratio targets used by retirement funds and those suggested in the literature would not provide an adequate retirement income for most households. The results may thus have a significant impact on retirement planning in the future.Item Wealth and sexual behaviour among men in Zimbabwe(2012-01-17) Musiyarira, ShepstoneINTRODUCTION: Zimbabwe has witnessed a decline in HIV prevalence in the general population estimated to be 27% in 2001, 19% in 2005, 16% in 2007 and 14% in 2009 (Mapingure et al., 2010). Whilst it is a notable decline the rate is still high. Sexual behaviour change has been reported as key to this HIV prevalence decline. Partner reduction has been advocated as an important strategy in HIV prevention. Understanding the socioeconomic and demographic factors influencing the sexual behaviours that are either sustaining the declining, yet still high, prevalence rates is critical to inform interventions. There is growing interest in the association between individual’s socioeconomic status and sexual risk taking behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa. The general objective was to examine the association between wealth and sexual behaviour among men in Zimbabwe. METHOD: Analysis of data from 7175 sexually active aged 15-54 years who participated in the Zimbabwe’s 2005/06 Demographic and Health Survey was done using logistic regression models and have reported odds ratios (OR) with Confidence intervals. In the multiple logistic regressions, two models were used. Model 1 included variables: wealth, age and education whilst in model 2 we controlled for: marital status, type of residence, region of residence and religion because these socio-demographic factors influence male sexual behaviour. The dependent variables included: unprotected sex at last encounter, multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships in last 12 months. RESULTS: When we controlled for potential confounding effects of education, age, marital status, type of residence, region of residence and religion, men in the middle wealth category of the population were less likely to have engaged in unprotected sex in the last encounter with a nonspousal cohabiting partner (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.76). Wealth was found to be not statistically significantly associated with multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships. CONCLUSION: Wealthy men in Zimbabwe are less likely to engage in unprotected sex. Wealth’s association with multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships was not confirmed in this study. Equitable distribution of wealth and sound economic policies are critical in improving the general welfare of nationals so as to reduce or eliminate some of the factors that cloud the associations between socioeconomic and demographic factors and sexual behaviours of individuals. Policies and programs that recommend deferral of gratification remain critical in order to reduce number of partners.