Poverty and Deprivation in Young and Old: A Comparative Study of Australia and Japan

<p>This paper compares the well-being of children and older people within and between Australia and Japan using as of indicators of disadvantage income poverty rates, deprivation (defined as an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities) and consistent poverty (the combination of poverty and deprivation). Information on these three indicators is derived from two national surveys that were used to generate a set of comparable measures. The results indicate that conclusions about the extent of disadvantage and the ranking of children and older people within each country (and between them) are heavily dependent on the choice of indicator. The deprivation results confirm that the approach can be applied comparatively and is capable of producing credible and robust findings. Whether viewed in isolation or in combination with conventional poverty measures, the results indicate that the main factor that determines the risk of deprivation is living alone (or as a sole parent) rather than age or the presence of children. The results also imply that the findings and implications of studies of policy impact will be sensitive to the choice of indicator used to identify disadvantage.</p>