Indicators of Economic Status and Social Capital in South African Townships

This article proposes a set of non-monetary indicators of material and social resources characterizing the childrearing environments of families in South African black urban townships. The selected indicators include adequacy of food, quality of housing, financial assets, consumer goods and social resources. The study reported in the article was carried out between 1990 and 1996. Through factor analyses two dimensions of social and economic status (SES) - consumption and social/financial capital - were identified. High, moderate and low SES groups were formed based on the families' combined score on the two factors. SES was significantly predictive of a family's ability to meet basic needs and in its experience of material hardship. The results of the study are reported.