An analysis of well-being in Gauteng province using the capability approach

Abstract This paper adopts a standard ‘capability approach’ to analyse individual well-being in Gauteng province of South Africa. The analysis is based on eight capabilities namely; ‘play’, ‘emotions’, ‘other species’, ‘affiliation’, ‘bodily health’, ‘bodily integrity’, ‘senses, imagination and thought’ and ‘control over one’s environment’. Data for analysis came from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory Quality of Life Survey IV-2015/16. A Multiple Correspondence Analysis was employed to generate an index for each capability. Each index is based on individual ‘functionings’ that deliberately cover both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ indicators of well-being undergirded by assumptions of aspirations and freedom. Results show that capability achievements vary across race, age and gender, confirming the typical South African scenario of inequality. However, we observe broader levels of deprivation that are otherwise masked in earlier studies based only on objective dimensions. JEL Classification C18 I32