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The Impact of the Welfare State on the Economic Status of Indigenous Australian Women
Author(s) -
Daly Anne,
Hawke Anne
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
australian economic review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1467-8462
pISSN - 0004-9018
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8462.1995.tb00902.x
Subject(s) - indigenous , social security , census , position (finance) , welfare , state (computer science) , social welfare , welfare state , socioeconomics , demographic economics , political science , economic growth , economics , sociology , demography , politics , finance , law , ecology , population , algorithm , computer science , biology
This article uses census data and Department of Social Security administrative records to examine the role of social security income in explaining the growth and relative improvement in the income status of indigenous Australian women. The real median income of indigenous women was 81 per cent of that of non‐indigenous women in 1991 compared with 74 per cent in 1976. Much of the change has come about from an improvement in the position of indigenous women who were not in employment. The article argues that much of this improvement can be attributed to increased access to social security benefits for indigenous women and therefore needs to be qualified by the circumstances in which these women live.