- Title
- Application of the Lewis Labour Surplus Model in the smallholder agricultural sector of the Eastern Cape Province
- Creator
- Mgwangqa, Noluchulumanco Petronella
- Subject
- Economic development -- Mathematical models
- Subject
- Labor economics
- Subject
- Surplus (Economics)
- Date Issued
- 2015-06
- Date
- 2015-06
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23969
- Identifier
- vital:62148
- Description
- Rural-urban migration is historically connected to industrialization, urbanization and economic growth. The Lewis model is one of the development theories which provide a good framework of explaining the ways in which the fruits of economic development are spread. Previous studies done in Lewis model in South Africa are still minimal and are only related to the mining sector. Understanding the Lewis labour surplus model in the smallholder agricultural sector is very crucial as agriculture is one of the industries that contribute to the GDP of the country. The application of the Lewis model in the agricultural sector will contribute modestly to available knowledge on labour transition, clarify the ongoing argument on the broad application of the Lewis labour surplus model and more importantly is the need to tease out factors that confirm its validity to the given environment. Thus, the research examines the applicability of the Lewis labour surplus model in the smallholder agricultural sector of the Eastern Cape. It first describes the rate of rural urban migration, causes of rural-urban migration and determines the impact of rural-urban migration on agricultural production.The study was carried in Nkonkobe and Mnquma local Municipalities. Both local municipality were purposively selected because of the high numbers of youth known to have migrated to the urban centres.This study employed a cross-sectional research design. Data was collected at one point in time. Multistage random sampling technique was employed to arrive at the sample size of the study. Data was analysed using descriptive and econometric models. Linear regression model was used to examine the causes of rural urban migration and T-test was also used to test the wage rate difference between rural and urban areas. Lastly Cobb Douglas model was used to test the impact of rural-urban migration on agricultural production. The findings of this research showed that rural urban migration is caused by higher wages, employment opportunities, lack of infrastructure and access to productive land. The results also indicated that urban areas have higher wages than rural areas. Lastly this study provides evidence that the loss of labour through increases in the existing rural-urban migration following rapid urbanizations has an impact on agricultural production. The government should formulate effective policy making in tackling the problems that force people to leave their rural origin and narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas through the introduction of rural development strategies and effective urban management.
- Description
- Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2015
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (101 leaves)
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science and Agriculture
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Collections
UFH Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | M Sc Agric (Agric Eco) MGWANGQA.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |