Table 6.

Estimated per capita expenditure in Rands, percentage distribution by household structure (2005 General Household Survey).

Monthly expenditure	No adult – only children (%)	Skip-generation (%)	Young adult with children (%)	Single adult with children (%)	‘Other’ (%)
Sig.	∗	∗	∗	∗
R0–199	24	39	57	48	48
R200–299	41	22	15	14	15
R300–499	10	25	16	14	10
R500–999	19	9	10	12	19
R1000 +	6	5	2	12	8
Total	100	100	100	100	100

Notes: Significance of distribution relative to category ‘other’ households, ∗denotes 5% significance.

R7 = ±US$ 1, January 2007.

Per capita estimates ignore the differences in consumption associated with children relative to adults and ignore economies of scale.

Adjustments were made for both of these factors, but the pattern across households remained unchanged. Using the mid-point of expenditure estimates can be problematic as it causes households to clump together. Distribution within the category can be very important when combined with household size; for this reason the lowest category was made large to avoid distortions associated with the combination. The survey also asks for estimated expenditure across a number of items. Combined, these provide an estimate of total expenditure not in pre-defined categories. These estimates were also used, but again did not affect the general pattern between households a great deal.

Source: Own calculations based on Stats SA data.