This paper analyses recently released ABS data on the distribution of income which allows, for the first time, estimates to be made of the distribution of income in 2000-01 and how it has changed since the mid-1990s. It is now possible to examine how inequality has changed since 1994-95 and since the election of the...

Does the within-household distribution of income influence household consumption patterns, and children's consumption in particular? During the 1990s, income support for unemployed married couples was changed from being paid almost entirely to husbands, to being paid primarily to wives. The impact of this change is examined using data from household expenditure surveys conducted before, during...

One of the most attractive features of social exclusion is that it broadens the conventional framework that identifies poverty as a lack of resources relative to needs. This paper examines how the concept of social exclusion has evolved in the academic and policy debate in Australia in the last five years or so. It does...

This paper reviews recent developments in pensions policy in a range of countries and identifies some of the main forces driving the policy reform agenda. The paper brings a new perspective to some familiar issues, drawing specifically on the research and policy experience of Australia, China and the United States. Its basic message is that...

Caring for those we love is understandable, but exactly what enables people to care for strangers? This paper draws on an analysis of data from the study of time-diaries (ABS' Time Use Surveys) to examine the connection between sociability and care. Using information on the behaviour of carers, the authors' findings are consistent with the...