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Indigenous Income, Wellbeing and Behaviour: Some Policy Complications
Author(s) -
Biddle Nicholas
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
economic papers: a journal of applied economics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1759-3441
pISSN - 0812-0439
DOI - 10.1111/1759-3441.12109
Subject(s) - indigenous , incentive , positive correlation , population , demographic economics , socioeconomics , correlation , geography , demography , economics , sociology , medicine , ecology , biology , microeconomics , geometry , mathematics
The weight of evidence suggests a positive correlation between income and subjective wellbeing, particularly at lower income levels. This correlation can be used as a policy lever to influence behaviour. This relationship has not been analysed, however, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians – a policy‐relevant population sub‐group. This paper finds that the correlation between income and two measures of wellbeing, while positive for non‐remote Indigenous males, is weaker for non‐remote Indigenous females and virtually non‐existent for remote Indigenous males and females. If wellbeing is not based on income, income‐based incentive programmes may be less effective.