Martin Gustafsson|Servaas van der Berg|Debra Shepherd|C.P.J. Burger
The Costs of Illiteracy in South Africa
Stellenbosch University|Stellenbosch University|Stellenbosch University|Stellenbosch University
south africa surge publicly funded adult literacy education recent years recognition effective monitoring adult literacy direct measures literacy required grade attainment selfreported ability read behavioural variables relating instance reading habits produce vastly different measures adult literacy south africa noteworthy selfreported values change time peoples perceptions constitutes literacy shifts 75 literacy rate arguably plausible figure though absence direct measure problematic education production function suggests literacyrelated parent behaviour independently parent years education influences performance learners school multivariate employment model selfreported literacy statistically significant predictor employed crosscountry growth model poor quality schooling emerges variable requiring urgent policy attention sustain improve south africas economic development microeconomic macroeconomic estimates suggest typical level school performance south africas gdp would 23 30 higher currently