Social Change in Western Australia Growing bigger and more unequal
Some headline changes Increased population Urban expansion Pressure on key services & infrastructure Growing average incomes Increased cost of living? Heavy reliance on mining & resource sectors But also……
And some shifts in community attitudes? Some downsides Urban sprawl – cost, isolation, health effects; “Fly-in”, “fly-out” life style – affects families; Services unable to keep up; Increased housing costs – steady decline in social housing/ affordable housing; Environmental degradation; Growing inequality; Poverty levels not declining; And some shifts in community attitudes?
How much richer are the richest 20% than the poorest 20%? 4 4 Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
2011 Australia Distribution of Household Wealth and Household Disposable Income by Decile
Actual, Estimated and Ideal Wealth Distribution by Quintile: Australia Neal, Norton & Ariely, 2011 Actual, Estimated and Ideal Wealth Distribution by Quintile: Australia
OECD
Oishi et al 2011
Health and Social Problems are Worse in More Unequal Countries Index of: Life expectancy Math & Literacy Infant mortality Homicides Imprisonment Teenage births Trust Obesity Mental illness – incl. drug & alcohol addiction Social mobility 11 Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
The Prevalence of Mental Illness is Higher in More Unequal Rich Countries 12 Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Drug Use is More Common in More Unequal Countries Index of use of: opiates, cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Rates of Imprisonment are Higher in More Unequal Countries Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Child Well-being is Better in More Equal Rich Countries 15 Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Net benefit generosity of transfers as a percentage of an average net production worker’s wage. The poverty line is 50% of median equivalized disposable income. 16 16
Lundberg O et al. (2007). The Nordic experience: welfare states and public health (NEWS). Report for the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Stockholm, Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS). 17 17
Nous report (see LMS) Impact of socio-economic status on reading outcomes (percentage of variance in reading score explained by ESCS)
Impact of disadvantage on performance – socioeconomic status 17
Cognitive score percentile position at each age Cognitive Score: Socioeconomic status more important than starting point High Cognitive Score at 22 months Low Cognitive Score at 22 months 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Child’s age (years) Cognitive score percentile position at each age (I Feinstein. Inequality in cognitive development. 1970 British Births. Economica 2003; 70: 3-97) (from The Marmot Review 2010)