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AUSTRALIAN LIVING STANDARDS: SOME GENDER CONSIDERATIONS
Author(s) -
Watts Rob
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1993.tb00914.x
Subject(s) - underpinning , standard of living , poverty , project commissioning , blindness , sociology , publishing , economics , public economics , positive economics , economic growth , development economics , political science , law , engineering , medicine , civil engineering , optometry , market economy
This paper is an exploration of the contemporary definitions in use of the idea of a standard of living as it has been developed in social policy and economic research both in Australia and overseas. It is suggested that the assumptions underpinning the idea of a standard of living in areas such as poverty research or the analysis of redistributive policies and their effects are neither tenable nor useful. The concept is flawed because it makes unreasonable assumptions about the household and the nature of women's domestic labour. Consideration of the gender blindness of much economics suggests the need for a major revision in our approach to the idea of a standard of living.