IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wop/sprcdp/00106.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Social Change and Social Policy: Results from a Survey of Public Opinion

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Saunders
  • Cathy Thomson
  • Ceri Evans

Abstract

Social policy is having to adapt to changes in the Australian economy and in Australian society more generally. The role of the state is receding and expectations of what it can achieve are being lowered at a time when the economy is generating increased material prosperity combined with growing inequalities and heightened insecurity. Against this background, there is a need to understand how the nature of public opinion is changing so that the degree of support for new (or existing) public programs can be ascertained. The federal government has foreshadowed social policy as its main priority over the next few years and is shaping the parameters of a new welfare state built upon the principles of self-reliance, incentives, affordability and mutual obligation. Yet rather little is known about how widely these principles are shared within the community, and how public opinion has changed in response to broader economic and social change. Against this background, a survey of a representative sample of the adult population was conducted in the middle of 1999 in order to understand the nature of public opinion on economic and social change. This paper - the first in a series - describes how the survey was conducted and reports some of its initial findings. It describes the main characteristics of the respondents and perceptions of changes in living standards, attitudes to economic and social change and concerns about their economic security. The results provide an insight into the diverse ways in which Australians are coping with forces that are generating benefits and uncertainties for many people.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Saunders & Cathy Thomson & Ceri Evans, 2000. "Social Change and Social Policy: Results from a Survey of Public Opinion," Discussion Papers 00106, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    • Handle: RePEc:wop:sprcdp:00106
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/dp/dp106.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Saunders, 1994. "Rising on the Tasman Tide: Income Inequality in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s," Discussion Papers 0049, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    2. Peter Saunders & Michael Fine, 1992. "The Mixed Economy of Support for the Aged in Australia: Lessons for Privatisation," Discussion Papers 0036, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    3. repec:bla:revinw:v:39:y:1993:i:3:p:229-56 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Peter Saunders, 1990. "Employment Growth and Poverty: An Analysis of Australian Experience, 1983-1990," Discussion Papers 0025, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    5. Bruce Bradbury, 1993. "Unemployment And Income Support: Challenges For The Years Ahead," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 12(2), pages 14-31, June.
    6. Peter Saunders & Peter Whiteford, 1990. "Compensating Low Income Groups for Indirect Tax Reform," Discussion Papers 0021, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    7. Peter Whiteford, 1992. "Are Immigrants Over-represented in the Australian Social Security System?," Discussion Papers 0031, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    8. Peter Saunders, 1993. "Married Women's Earnings and Family Income Inequality in the Eighties," Discussion Papers 0040, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    9. Saunders, P. & Bradbury, B., 1991. "Some Australian Evidence on the Consensual Approach to Poverty Measurement," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 47-78.
    10. Bruce Bradbury, 1992. "Unemployment, Participation and Family Incomes in the 1980s," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 68(4), pages 328-342, December.
    11. Peter Saunders & Helen Stott & Garry Hobbes, 1991. "Income Inequality In Australia And New Zealand: International Comparisons And Recent Trends," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 37(1), pages 63-79, March.
    12. Gerry Redmond, 1999. "Incomes, incentives and the growth of means-testing in Hungary," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 20(1), pages 77-99, March.
    13. Cathy Boland, 1989. "A Comparative Study of Home and Hospital Births: Scientific and Normative Values and their Effects," Discussion Papers 0012, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    14. Russell Ross, 1988. "The Labour Market Position of Aboriginal People in Non-Metropolitan New South Wales," Discussion Papers 001, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    15. Peter Saunders & George Matheson, 1991. "Sole parent families in Australia," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(3), pages 51-75, July.
    16. Peter Saunders, 1994. "The Role, Value and Limitations of Poverty Research," Discussion Papers 0053, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    17. Peter Saunders & Garry Hobbes, 1988. "Income Inequality in Australia in an International Comparative Perspective," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 21(3), pages 25-34, September.
    18. Peter Whiteford, 1995. "The use of replacement rates in international comparisons of benefit systems," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(2), pages 3-30, April.
    19. Peter Whiteford, 1988. "Taxation and Social Security: An Overview," Discussion Papers 003, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    20. Bruce Bradbury, 1989. "The 'Family Package' and the Cost of Children," Discussion Papers 0010, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    21. Bruce Bradbury, 1988. "Family Size Equivalence Scales and Survey Evaluation of Income and Well-Being," Discussion Papers 005, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    22. Peter Saunders & Johan Fritzell, 1995. "Wage and Income Inequality in Two Welfare States: Australia and Sweden," Discussion Papers 0060, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tony Eardley & Peter Saunders & Ceri Evans, 2000. "Community Attitudes Towards Unemployment, Activity Testing and Mutual Obligation," Discussion Papers 00107, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    2. Peter Saunders, 1998. "Using Budget Standards to Assess the Well-Being of Families," Discussion Papers 0093, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    3. Bruce Bradbury, 1999. "Tax Theory and Targeting: A Survey," Discussion Papers 00100, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    4. Jeff Borland, 1999. "Earnings Inequality in Australia: Changes, Causes and Consequences," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 75(2), pages 177-202, June.
    5. A. B. Atkinson & Andrew Leigh, 2005. "The Distribution of Top Incomes in New Zealand," CEPR Discussion Papers 503, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    6. Bruce Bradbury, 1992. "The Welfare Interpretation of Family Size Equivalence Scales," Discussion Papers 0037, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    7. Peter Whiteford, 1995. "The use of replacement rates in international comparisons of benefit systems," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(2), pages 3-30, April.
    8. Bruce Bradbury, 1992. "Unemployment, Participation and Family Incomes in the 1980s," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 68(4), pages 328-342, December.
    9. Anthony B. Atkinson & Andrew Leigh, 2007. "The Distribution of Top Incomes in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 83(262), pages 247-261, September.
    10. Gerry Redmond, 1999. "Tax-benefit Policies and Parents' Incentives to Work: The Case of Australia 1980-1997," Discussion Papers 00104, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    11. Peter Saunders, 1998. "Global Pressures, National Responses: The Australian Welfare State in Context," Discussion Papers 0090, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    12. Sheila Shaver & Michael Fine, 1995. "Social Policy and Personal Life: Changes in State, Family and Community in the Support of Informal Care," Discussion Papers 0065, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    13. Ahn T. Le, 2003. "Female Labour Market Participation: Differences Between Primary and Tied Movers," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 03-17, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    14. Ann Harding & Josh Polette, 1995. "The Price of Means‐Tested Transfers: Effective Marginal Tax Rates in Australia in 1994," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 28(3), pages 100-106, July.
    15. Arts, Jori & Ponds, Eduard, 2016. "The Need for Flexible Take-ups of Home Equity and Pension Wealth in Retirement," Other publications TiSEM 4331ef5b-798f-48dd-8bb5-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    16. Caroline Dewilde, 2008. "Individual and institutional determinants of multidimensional poverty: A European comparison," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 233-256, April.
    17. Nikolay Galabov, 2000. "Expanding the Range of the Assessable Incomes with Individual Income Tax and Decrease of the Tax Burden," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 92-113.
    18. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:48:y:2010:i::p:529-556 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Spartaco Greppi & Heiner Ritzmann, 2001. "La protection sociale en Suisse: évolution depuis 1990 sous l'angle d'un nouvel outil d'analyse statistique," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 137(III), pages 383-406, September.
    20. Lelkes, Orsolya & Benedek, Dóra, 2006. "A magyarországi jövedelem-újraelosztás és egy egykulcsos adóreform vizsgálata mikroszimulációs modellel [An examination of income redistribution in Hungary and single-rate tax reform, using a micro," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(7), pages 604-623.
    21. Peter Saunders, 1997. "Developing Policy Planning and Research Capabilities in the Asia Pacific," Discussion Papers 0078, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wop:sprcdp:00106. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Thomas Krichel (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/spnswau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.