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The Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Saunders

    (University of New South Wales)

  • Bruce Bradbury

    (University of New South Wales, Sydney)

  • Melissa Wong

    (University of New South Wales, Sydney)

Abstract

Economic inequality has emerged as a policy issue as recent academic studies have documented the extent of change and raised questions about its underlying causes and economic and social impacts. This paper examines the levels of income and wealth inequality and recent changes using data from the Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Attention focuses on where different groups fit in the overall income distribution - how specific assets (particularly owner-occupied housing) affect the distribution of wealth within and between different generations, the joint distribution of income and wealth and how both distributions have changed in recent years. The observed changes cover the period before and after the 2008 financial crisis and have occurred against a background of increases in real income and real net wealth, although the gains have been greater for those at the top of both distributions than for those at the bottom.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Saunders & Bruce Bradbury & Melissa Wong, 2016. "The Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 19(1), pages 15-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:19:y:2016:i:1:p:15-32
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Whiteford, 2015. "Inequality and Its Socioeconomic Impacts," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 48(1), pages 83-92, March.
    2. Salverda, Wiemer & Nolan, Brian & Checchi, Daniele & Marx, Ive & McKnight, Abigail & Toth, Istvan Gy (ed.), 2014. "Changing Inequalities in Rich Countries: Analytical and Comparative Perspectives," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199687435.
    3. Michael Fletcher & Ben Guttermann, 2013. "Income Inequality in Australia," Economic Roundup, The Treasury, Australian Government, issue 2, pages 35-56, December.
    4. Roger Wilkins, 2015. "Measuring Income Inequality in Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 48(1), pages 93-102, March.
    5. Paul Frijters & Gigi Foster, 2015. "Rising Inequality: A Benign Outgrowth of Markets or a Symptom of Cancerous Political Favours?," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 48(1), pages 67-75, March.
    6. Atkinson, Anthony B., 1970. "On the measurement of inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 244-263, September.
    7. Atkinson, Anthony B., 2015. "Inequality: what can be done?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101810, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Ian M. McDonald, 2015. "Policy Forum: On the Economics and Politics of Inequality," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 48(1), pages 65-66, March.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Weiguang Liu, 2018. "The Self-Ful?lling Discriminations and Mismatches for Old Workers and Poor Workers," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 5(1), pages 58-74, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic inequality; income distribution; distribution of net wealth; recent trends;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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