Cost and standard of living
ALTERNATIVE LABELS
Cost of living
Household expenses
Living standards
Standard of living
NARROWER TERMS
Report
Tough times, hard choices
NCOSS' annual 'Cost of living in NSW' research investigates cost-of-living pressures for people living below the poverty line and low-income households in New South Wales. The report explores experiences across a range of issues such as housing, employment, income and financial hardship.
Report
Comparative analysis of cost of living
Deloitte Access Economics was engaged by the Western Australian Treasury to undertake a comparative analysis of cost of living between Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane; and between the major regional centres of Bunbury, Newcastle, Geelong and Sunshine Coast. The purpose of the report is to...
Discussion paper
Are wages or profits driving Australia’s inflation? An analysis of the National Accounts
The distributional consequences of record high profits and record low real wage growth have been widely discussed in Australia recently, but the data presented in this paper suggests that rising profits are now the major driver of inflation.
Report
E-change and remote work in Australia
This report is about ‘e-changers’ - a significant and growing segment of the population who have chosen to move from the city to regional and coastal areas while maintaining their city jobs.
Report
Prices and profits after the pandemic
This analysis shows that the profits of the largest non-financial companies were up 34 per cent at the end of 2021, compared to pre-pandemic levels – rising significantly faster than inflation and wage growth. This report argues that some firms could have considerable market power...
Briefing paper
Wages, prices, and the 2022 federal election
The recent federal election featured important debate regarding the recent acceleration of inflation in Australia, and whether and how wages should be boosted to keep up with higher prices. This briefing paper reviews the detailed findings of an exit poll regarding wages, prices and the...
Report
Wage norms and the link to public sector salary caps
This report examines the escalating cost of living and retention crisis for New South Wales public sector workers.
Report
Climate for growth: productivity, net zero and the cost of living
Climate change is all bad for the economy, but climate change policies are not. This report classifies 14 areas of green economic policy, including action on energy, buildings and transport, assessing what the direct impact of each will be on productivity.
Report
Tackling rising inflation and slowing growth: government’s big decision on how to share the pain
The economic crisis facing the United Kingdom is very different to the 2008 financial crash and the early 1990s recession – which means a very different response is required by the government, argues Gemma Tetlow in this report.
Briefing paper
Cutting the cost of living
This briefing paper outlines a host of measures that the UK Government could implement immediately to help address the short term challenges of the cost of living crisis – most at minimal or no cost to the Treasury.
Working paper
Effects of renting on household energy expenditure: evidence from Australia
This paper uses household survey data from Australia to investigate whether renters face larger energy bills than otherwise similar households. The findings cast light on the potential for more ambitious policy responses to reduce energy-related disadvantages faced by renters in Australia.
Report
Cutting the cost of living with a green economy
This report outlines how policies in the United Kingdom that cut emissions can also reduce the cost of living, both now and in the future.
Report
The return of inflation: what it means for Australia
Inflation is rising around the world, the sting in the tail of the pandemic economic stimulus packages unleashed by governments in 2020. This analysis paper examines the implications for prices and wages growth in Australia.
Policy report
Orange Book 2022: policy priorities for the federal government
Building on research and analysis published by Grattan Institute since it was founded 13 years ago, this report identifies reforms to boost incomes, improve health and education, create better transport links, make housing more affordable, generate meaningful progress on climate change, and strengthen Australia’s political...
Report
Casualties of fashion: how garment workers in Bangladesh and Cambodia are wearing the cost of COVID-19
The research in this report reveals that garment workers in Bangladesh and Cambodia – two prominent garment producing countries for the Australian market – are not earning enough to cover basic living costs for their families during COVID-19.
Report
Bouncing back: boosting young people’s financial wellbeing after the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging - with young people particularly affected. For policy-makers to get to grips with what appears to be a cost of living crisis for young people, this report recommends that the UK government makes tackling this issue an urgent priority.
Report
The state of concessions in South Australia
Like all state governments, the South Australian government provides concessions for people living on very low incomes and struggling with affordability of essential services. This review of the concessions system in South Australia highlights how the complex patchwork created poverty premiums and barriers to accessing...
Discussion paper
Generation stressed: house prices and the cost of living in the 21st Century
This discussion paper explores how the affordability of home ownership has changed between generations over the last half century. It shows that the common framing of mortgage affordability places far too much emphasis on short-term interest rates, and far too little on inflation and wage...
Report
No longer 'managing': the rise of working poverty and fixing Britain's broken social settlement
This paper traces the emergence of a poorly understood social challenge and one which symbolises Britain’s broken ‘social settlement’ - the continued rise in working poverty since the beginning of this century.
Briefing paper
Lifting singles out of deep poverty: the case for increasing social assistance benefits
Most single working-age adults in Canada on social assistance are living in deep poverty, due to provincial governments’ efforts to curb welfare dependency and maintain work incentives. In this paper, the author calls on provincial policy-makers to increase social assistance benefits for singles to help...