Received: 2025-02-11  |  Accepted: 2025-05-21  |  Published: 2025-06-30

Title

The impact of poverty, inequality and unemployment on youth: a case study of Nqabane, South Africa


Abstract

The triad of poverty, inequality, and unemployment has a detrimental effect on the lives of South African youth. A complex web is formed by the interaction of each of these elements, which not only restricts opportunities but also exacerbates the psychosocial issues of young people. A comprehension of the implications of this triad is necessary to address the distinctive requirements of South African youth. This quantitative study used a sample of 100 youth to respond to questionnaires on the extent to which the triple challenges affect unemployed youth in Nqabane, South Africa. The study accepted the alternative hypothesis, which states that youth agri-preneurs are more affected by the triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. These findings have far-reaching implications. They emphasise the pressing need for economic institutions and policymakers to encourage young people to pursue entrepreneurship and incorporate agriculture issues into the field.


Keywords

youth, poverty, inequality, unemployment, agri-preneurship


JEL classifications

J10 , L26


URI

http://jssidoi.org/ird/article/200


DOI


Pages

141-157


Funding


This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Masha, Anthony Kambi
Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa https://www.wsu.ac.za
Articles by this author in: CrossRef |  Google Scholar

Mdeni, Thulisiwe
Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa https://www.wsu.ac.za
Articles by this author in: CrossRef |  Google Scholar

Journal title

Insights into Regional Development

Volume

7


Number

2


Issue date

June 2025


Issue DOI


ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)


Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Google Scholar

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 861  |  PDF downloads: 740

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