Description: The 2010 (May - June) dataset contains a summary of the household responses as given by the head or partner of head to the interview team, using a single aide-memoire interview schedule with open-ended questions together with some quantitative questions. It covers the household situation in regard to poverty, hunger and the impact of the 2008 Global Economic Crisis on poor households and on their members from 2008-2009. Both text transcriptions of the recorded responses and the quantitative material are included in the dataset. Not all households in the sample completed all the questions.

Twenty nine households with 14 at 'Swedenville' and 15 at 'Bergpoort' (Pseudo locations). The main respondent data set has 262 variables, 27 records. The household roster has 18 variables and 106 records. The merged dataset has 279 variables and 106 records. Abstract: The Oxfam study focussed on the impacts of the global recession through its impacts on women, specifically poor women. The brief to HSRC addressed the following issues particularly:

Variability in people's experience:

impacts on the country's economy

impacts on lives

existing vulnerability

how these relate to the monetary economy.

Government responses:

relevance and adequacy of government and civil society response

impact on international policies

existing social protection programmes.

The research therefore focused on the human and social dimensions of the crisis which are often drowned by research that centres on the macroeconomic progression of the crisis. In commissioning this work Oxfam was trying to respond to a research and monitoring gap that has been created by the dominate focus on national or macro-economic impacts of the crisis. For many developing countries the global economic crisis came at a time when they had barely recovered from the food and oil price hikes of 2007/08.

Face-to-face interview

The population from which the study cases were drawn included all households in the 'Swedenville'and 'Bergpoort' named communities. These two communities were chosen to provide a general representation in respect of 1) an urban shack settlement adjacent to a formal township; and 2) a rural poor settlement in a farming district.

No precise representation of this sample universe is possible given the qualitative methods used and the lack of statistical case selection.

No precise representation of this sample universe is possible given the qualitative methods used and the lack of statistical case selection.