Transcript Document

Measurement and Change in Deprivation and
Exclusion in Australia
Peter Saunders and Melissa Wong
Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
Presented to the Second Townsend Memorial Conference,
University of Bristol, 22-23 January 2011
Outline of Presentation
 Limitations of poverty research in Australia
 Deprivation and social exclusion
 Towards new indicators of disadvantage: Project background and aims
 Measuring deprivation and social exclusion
 Some results from the 2006 and 2010 surveys
 Conclusions
Poverty: Why We Need a New Approach
 No agreement about where to set the poverty line
 Poverty line sensitive to shifts (Saunders and Hill, 2008)
 Household income data not reliable
 ‘…household income is not a good indicator of the total economic resources
available to many people with very low recorded incomes...’ (ABS, 2006)
 Poverty is more than just a lack of income - it is often multi-dimensional in
terms of causes and consequences
 The failure to provide such foundations in poverty line studies has exposed
them for being out of touch with the lived realities of poverty (Lister, 2004)
 Failure to indicate that the actual living conditions of those identified as poor
are synonymous with poverty (Whiteford, 1997)
Poverty and Deprivation
‘Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty
when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in
activities, and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or
at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong.
Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average
individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living
patterns and activities’ (Townsend, 1979)
‘…an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities (or essentials)’
(Mack and Lansley, 1985)
Poverty and Social Exclusion
 ‘Social exclusion is a complex and multi-dimensional process. It involves
the lack of denial of resources, rights, good and services, and the inability to
participate in the normal relationships and activities, available to the
majority of the people in society, whether in economic, social, cultural, or
political arenas. It affects both the quality of life of individuals and the
equity and cohesion of society as a whole’ (Levitas, 2007).

‘An individual who is socially excluded if he or she does not participate in
key activities in the society in which he or she lives’ (Burchardt, Le Grand
and Piachaud, 2002)
Towards New Indicators of Disadvantage
Project background and aims: 2006
 2006 Left Out and Missing Out Study
 Two year study grant funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant
 Industry partners: ACOSS, Mission Australia, Brotherhood of St Laurence and Anglicare
Sydney
 Main goal: To identify what constitutes the main elements of a minimally decent lifestyle
in contemporary Australia and assess who is ‘missing out’ and ‘left out’
 First of its kind to apply a deprivation approach in Australia and the first to present a
comprehensive national picture of social exclusion
 Stage 1 (mid-2005): focus group discussions with community sector agency clients and
staff
 Stage 2 (early-2006): The Community Understanding of Poverty and Social Exclusion
(CUPSE) survey sent out to 6,000 adult (18+) Australians – n = 2,704; response rate = 46.9%
 Two welfare service client surveys in 2006 (n=673) and 2008 (n=1,237); based on a
truncated version of CUPSE
Towards New Indicators of Disadvantage
Project background and aims: 2010
 2010 Social Disadvantage and Economic Recession – Promoting Inclusion and
Combating Deprivation
 Two year study grant funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant
 Industry partners: Anglicare Australia, ACOSS, The Benevolent Society, Mission Australia,
Social Inclusion Unit (Australia, South Australia and Tasmania), St Vincent de Paul Society
 Main focus: to examine the impact of global financial crisis on Australia and to examine the
robustness of the methodologies involved
 First study in Australia to explore the dynamics of social disadvantage
 The Poverty and Exclusion in Modern Australia (PEMA) survey :
- same sampling frame as CUPSE; n= 2,644; response rate = 46.1%
 The PEMA follow-up survey:
- re-surveying of 1,000 CUPSE respondents; n=533; response rate = 60.2%
 PLEASE NOTE: PEMA data are (very) new and results are preliminary
Identifying the Essentials of Life and
Deprivation
Is it essential?
Yes
No
Do you have it?
Yes
No
Is this because you cannot afford it?
THE ESSENTIALS OF LIFE
Yes
DEPRIVATION
No
Support for Items being Essential:
2006 and 2010
The 24 Essential Items
1)
2)
3)
Warm clothes and bedding, if it’s cold
Medical treatment if needed
Able to buy medicines prescribed by a
doctor
4) A substantial meal at least once a day
5) Dental treatment if needed
6) A decent and secure home
7) Children can participate in school
activities and outings
8) A yearly dental check-up for children
9) A hobby or leisure activity for children
10) Up to date schoolbooks and new school
clothes
11) A roof and gutters that do not leak
12) Secure locks on doors and windows
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
Regular social contact with other people
Furniture in reasonable condition
Heating in at least one room of the house
Up to $500 in savings for an emergency
A separate bed for each child
A washing machine
Home contents insurance
Presents for family or friends at least once
a year
Computer skills
Comprehensive motor vehicle insurance
A telephone
A week’s holiday away from home each
year
Deprivation Rates in 2006 and 2010
A decent and secure home
A substantial meal at least once a day
Up to $500 in savings for emergency
Separate bed for each child
Medical treatment if needed
Able to buy prescribed medicines
Dental treatment if needed
Dental check-up for children
A week's holiday away each year
Presents for family / friends each year
School activities / outings for children
0
5
10
15
%
2006
2010
20
25
Social Exclusion Domains
Disengagement
(9 indicators)
Service Exclusion
(10 indicators)
Economic Exclusion
(8 indicators)
No regular social contact with other people
No medical treatment if needed
Does not have $500 in savings for use in an
emergency
Did not participate in any community activities in
last 12 months
No access to a local doctor or hospital
Had to pawn or sell something, or borrow money
in the last 12 months
Does not have a social life
No access to dental treatment if needed
Could not raise $2,000 in a week
No annual week’s holiday away from home
No access to a bulk-billing doctor
Does not have more than $50,000 worth of
assets
Children do not participate in school outings or
activities [those with school-age children only]
No access to mental health services
Has not spent $100 on a ‘special treat’ for myself
in last 12 months
No hobby or leisure activity for children [those
with children only]
No child care for working parents [workingage parents only]
Does not have enough to get by on
Couldn’t get to an important event because of
lack of transport in last 12 months
No aged care for frail older people [people
aged 70+ only]
Is currently unemployed or looking for work
No disability support services when needed
Lives in a jobless household
Could not go out with friends and pay my way in
last 12 months
Unable to attend wedding or funeral in last 12
months
No access to a bank or building society
Couldn’t keep up with payments for water,
electricity, gas or telephone in last 12
months
Social Exclusion Indicators
Did not participate in community activities
Does not have a social life
No week's holiday away from home each year
Could not go out with friends and pay their way
No medical treatment if needed
No dental treatment if needed
No access to a bank or building society
Couldn't make electricity, water, gas or telephone
payments
Does not have $500 in emergency savings
Could not raise $2,000 in a week
Does not have enough to get by on
Lives in a jobless household
0
2006
2010
2006 deep exclusion
20
40
2010 deep exclusion
60
80
100
Overlaps between Poverty,
Deprivation and Social Exclusion
 Poverty rate – 50 % median equivalised househould income
 Deprivation – 3 or more conditions of deprivation
 Social exclusion – 7 or more exclusion indicators
Overlaps between Poverty,
Deprivation and Social Exclusion
Community Sample 2006
Overlaps between Poverty,
Deprivation and Social Exclusion
Client Sample 2006
In Conclusion
 New series of indicators of disadvantage for the Australian context
 Deprivation method is capable of generating robust and plausible results
 Following the global financial crisis, there has been a fall in deprivation
and social exclusion rates in Australia
 However, there is still a problem concerning deep exclusion that requires
greater attention
 Overlaps between poverty, deprivation and social exclusion greater for
welfare service clients
Age Composition Comparisons
Deprivation Rates by the Presence of
Children
A decent and secure home
A substantial meal at least once a day
Up to $500 in savings for emergency
Separate bed for each child
Medical treatment if needed
Able to buy prescribed medicines
Dental treatment if needed
Dental check-up for children
A week's holiday away each year
Presents for family / friends each year
School activities / outings for children
0
2006 No child present
5
2006 Child present
10
%
15
2010 No child present
20
2010 Child present
25
30
Sensitivity analysis: Inferred Deprivation
Inverse
ownership
rate - does not
have
Deprivation
rate - does not have
and cannot afford
Inferred
deprivation rate
- does not have
but regards as
essential
Warm clothes and bedding, if it's cold
0.4
0.3
0.4
Medical treatment if needed
3.1
1.5
3.1
Able to buy medicines prescribed by a doctor
4.1
2.9
3.9
A substantial meal at least once a day
1.4
0.8
1.2
Children can participate in school activities and outings
28.4 (3.6)
2.6 (1.3)
26.1 (3.4)
A yearly dental check-up for children
25.0 (5.4)
7.0 (3.3)
21.9 (5.0)
A hobby or leisure activity for children
25.3 (3.9)
4.6 (2.1)
21.3 (3.3)
A roof and gutters that do not leak
9.2
4.7
7.0
Secure locks on doors and windows
11.4
4.3
8.0
Regular social contact with other people
13.0
4.7
10.5
Furniture in reasonable condition
2.3
2.1
1.7
Essential items
Heating in at least one room of the house
7.7
2.1
A week's holiday away from home each year
39.2
18.5
Note: (a) Figures in brackets assume that households without children do not lack, or are deprived of, child items.
2.7
16.9