Demographic trends and consumption inequality in Australia between 1975 and 1993

Garry F. Barreti, Tomas F. Crossley, Christopher Worswick

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    13 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We examine trends in consumption inequality among Australian households using the Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure Surveys collected over the period 1975 to 1993. We find that the distribution of consumption is much more equal than that of income and that both income and consumption inequality rose by significant amounts over the period. However, consumption inequality rose by much less (the Gini coefficient for income inequality rose by 17 percent while that for nondurable consumption rose by 9 percent). We then examine the effects of demographic trends, specifically population aging and changing family structures, and find they account for only a minor fraction in the overall growth in economic inequality.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)437-456
    Number of pages20
    JournalReview of Income and Wealth
    Volume46
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2000

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