Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-14T16:57:03.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Are recent trends in poverty and deprivation in Australia consistent with trickle-down effects?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Peter Saunders ,
Yuvisthi Naidoo  and
Melissa Wong
Peter Saunders*
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Australia
Yuvisthi Naidoo
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Australia
Melissa Wong
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Australia
*
Peter Saunders, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: P.Saunders@unsw.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines trends in social disadvantage in Australia over the decade to 2018 using two approaches: a monetary approach using poverty and a living standards approach using deprivation. We compare the two approaches, highlight their implications and assess whether the evidence produced by each is consistent with trickle-down effects. The estimates allow for variations in thresholds, the treatment of housing costs and relative and absolute measures. The findings indicate an overall decline in poverty that is dependent on the treatment of housing costs and a more consistent decline in deprivation but with little or no improvement for many experiencing poverty or deprivation. Poverty and deprivation among unemployed households were above those for people in other labour force states throughout the period and while these differentials have narrowed, the findings suggest that trickle-down effects did not reach many of those highly disadvantaged or are subject to long delays.

Keywords

I32E65H55DeprivationGlobal Financial Crisisincome distributionneo-liberalismpovertysocial disadvantagesocial policy
Type
Aspects of social justice
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , September 2022 , pp. 566 - 585
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Atkinson, AB (1995) Incomes and the Welfare State. Essays on Britain and Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Atkinson, AB, Guio, A-C and Marlier, E (2017) Monitoring the evolution of income poverty and real incomes over time. In: Atkinson, AB, Guio, A-C and Marlier, E (eds) Monitoring Social Inclusion in Europe. 2017 Edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, pp. 65–87.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2009) Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2007-08. Catalogue No. 6523.0. Canberra, ACT: ABS.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2019) Household Income and Wealth. Australia, data download from 65230DO001_2017-18 Household Income and Wealth, Australia: Summary of Results, 2017–18. Canberra, ACT: ABS.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2020) Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2017-18, Catalogue No. 6523.0. Canberra, ACT: ABS.Google Scholar
Azpitarte, F (2014) Was pro-poor economic growth in Australia for the income-poor? And for the multidimensionally-poor? Social Indicators Research 117(3): 871–905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Azpitarte, F and Kalb, G (2019) Measuring income poverty in Australia: A review of methods and recent trends. In: Saunders, P (ed.) Revisiting Henderson: Poverty, Social Security and Basic Income. Melbourne, VIC: Melbourne University Press, pp. 163–187.Google Scholar
Bradbury, B, Rossiter, C and Vipond, J (1986) Poverty, before and after paying for housing. Reports and Proceedings No. 56. Sydney, NSW: Social Welfare Research Centre, University of New South Wales.Google Scholar
Bradbury, B and Saunders, P (2021) Housing costs and poverty: Analysing recent Australian trends. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. Epub ahead of print 15 September 2021. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10901-021-09899-w.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradbury, B, Saunders, P and Wong, M (2018) ACOSS/UNSW SYDNEY, Poverty in Australia 2018, Research Methodology. Available at: https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Methodology-Paper_Poverty-in-Australia-2018.pdf (accessed 11 June 2022).Google Scholar
Commission of Inquiry into Poverty in Australia (1975) First Main Report. Poverty in Australia, Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Publishing Service.Google Scholar
Corak, M (2006) Principles and practicalities for measuring child poverty. International Social Security Review 59(2): 3–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Danziger, S and Gottschalk, P (1986) Do rising tides lift all boats? The impact of secular and cyclical changes on poverty. American Economic Review 76(2): 405–410.Google Scholar
Davidson, P, Bradbury, B, Wong, M, et al. (2020a) Inequality in Australia, Part 1: Overview. Sydney, NSW: Australian Council of Social Service and UNSW.Google Scholar
Davidson, P, Saunders, P, Bradbury, M, et al. (2020b) Poverty in Australia 2020, part 1, overview, ACOSS/UNSW Poverty and Inequality Partnership report no. 3. Sydney, NSW: ACOSS.Google Scholar
Dermott, E and Main, G (eds) (2018) Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK. Volume 1. The Nature and Extent of the Problem. Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
European Commission (2018) Living Conditions in Europe. 2018 Edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
Guio, A-C, Marlier, E, Gordon, D, et al. (2016) Improving the measurement of material deprivation at the European level. Journal of European Social Policy 26(3): 219–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, D (2006) The concept and measurement of poverty. In: Pantazis, C, Gordon, D and Levitas, R (eds) Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain. The Millennium Survey. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 29–69.Google Scholar
Gordon, D (2017) PSE-UK 2012 Survey. Producing an ‘Objective’ Poverty Line in Eight Easy Steps, Poverty and Social Exclusion in the United Kingdom. Bristol: Economic and Social Research Council.Google Scholar
Gordon, D (2018) Measuring poverty in the UK. In: Dermott, E and Main, G (eds) Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK. Volume 1 – The Nature and Extent of the Problem. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 17–39.Google Scholar
Gordon, D and Pantazis, C (eds) (1997) Breadline Britain in the 1990s. Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Gutfleisch, T and Andreβ, H-J (2020) Perceptions of society’s necessary standard of living: Are perceptions determined by what people have, or do they reflect a social consensus? Social Indicators Research 149(1): 467–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horemans, J and Marx, I (2017) Poverty and material deprivation among self-employed in Europe: An exploration of a relatively uncharted landscape. Discussion paper no. 11007. Bonn: IZA Institute of Economics.Google Scholar
Jenkins, SP (2016) The income distribution in the UK: A picture of advantage and disadvantage. In: Dean, H and Platt, L (eds) Social Advantage and Disadvantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 135–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, A (1998) Income poverty since the early 1970s. In: Fincher, R and Nieuwenhuysen, J (eds) Australian Poverty. Then and Now. Melbourne, VIC: Melbourne University Press, pp. 71–102.Google Scholar
Kwon, R and Salcido, B (2019) Does a rising tide lift all boats? Liberalization and real incomes in advanced industrial societies. Social Science Research 79(1): 127–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lau, MKW, Pantazis, C, Gordon, D, et al. (2017) Poverty in Hong Kong. In: Lau, MKW and Gordon, D (eds) Poverty in a Rich Society. The Case of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, pp. 21–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mack, J (2018) Fifty years of poverty in the UK. In: Bramley, N and Bailey, G (eds) Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK. Volume 2. The Dimensions of Disadvantage. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 27–56.Google Scholar
Mack, J and Lansley, S (1985) Poor Britain. London: George Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Martinez, A and Perales, F (2017) The dynamics of multidimensional poverty in contemporary Australia. Social Indicators Research 130(2): 479–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nandy, S and Main, G (2015) The consensual approach to child poverty measurement. CROP Poverty Brief, November. Bergen: CROP, pp. 1–4.Google Scholar
Nolan, B and Whelan, CT (1996) Resources, Deprivation and Poverty. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Nolan, B and Whelan, CT (2007) The multidimensionality of poverty and social exclusion. In: Jenkins, SP and Micklewright, J (eds), Inequality and Poverty Re-examined. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 146–165.Google Scholar
Pantazis, C, Gordon, D and Levitas, R (eds) (2006) Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain. The Millennium Survey. Bristol: Policy Press CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patsios, D (2018) Improvement for some: Poverty and social exclusion among older people and pensioners. In: Dermott, E and Main, G (eds) Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK. Volume 1 – The Nature and Extent of the Problem. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 61–93.Google Scholar
Patsios, D, Pomati, M and Hillyard, P (2018) Living standards in the UK. In: Bramley, N and Bailey, G (eds) Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK. Volume 2. The Dimensions of Disadvantage. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 57–89.Google Scholar
Quiggin, J (2010) Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us. Revised Edition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Ravallion, M (2016) The Economics of Poverty. History, Measurement and Policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ringen, S (1988) Direct and indirect measures of poverty. Journal of Social Policy 17(2): 351–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, P (2018) Monitoring and addressing global poverty: A new approach and implications for Australia. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 29(1): 9–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, P and Matheson, G (1991) An ever-rising tide? Poverty in Australia in the eighties. Economic and Labour Relations Review 2(2): 143–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, P and Naidoo, Y (2009) Poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty. Economic Record 85(271): 417–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, P and Naidoo, Y (2019) Poverty as relative deprivation: Application, analysis and implications for social security. In: Saunders, P (ed.) Revisiting Henderson: Poverty, Social Security and Basic Income. Melbourne, VIC: Melbourne University Press, pp. 189–213.Google Scholar
Saunders, P and Naidoo, Y (2020) The overlap between income poverty and material deprivation: Sensitivity evidence for Australia. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice 28(2): 187–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, P, Naidoo, Y and Wong, M (2022a) Comparing the monetary and living standards approaches to poverty using the Australian experience. Social Indicators Research. Epub ahead of print 7 February 2022. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-02888-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, P, Naidoo, Y and Wong, M (2022b) The crumbling pillar: Assessing the impact of housing costs on recent trends in poverty and deprivation in Australia. International Journal of Social Welfare, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Saunders, P and Wong, M (2011) Pension adequacy and the pension review. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 22(3): 7–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Throsby, D (2017) A rising tide raises all boats. In: Frey, B and Iselin, D (eds), Economic Ideas You Should Forget. Cham: Springer, pp. 149–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Townsend, P (1987) Deprivation. Journal of Social Policy 16(2): 125–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkins, R (2014) Evaluating the evidence on income inequality in Australia in the 2000s. Economic Record 90(288): 63–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkins, R (2021) Household economic wellbeing. In: Wilkins, R, Vera-Toscano, E, Botha, F, et al. (eds) The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey: Selected Findings From Waves 1 to 19. Melbourne, VIC: Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, the University of Melbourne, pp. 22–52.Google Scholar