The Wellbeing of Children in Australia Workshop
Lessons from International Experience and Policy Developments in English-Speaking Countries
Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney
6-7 April 2011
This workshop will brought together Australian and international experts working on these issues with policy makers and advocacy groups. The workshop presented results from two Australian Research Council funded projects at the University of New South Wales on Comparing the living standards of children and older people within and between nations and Supporting families: Horizontal and vertical equity in the Australian tax-benefit system in historical and comparative perspectives.
Issues covered in the workshop included: factors influencing the living standards of children and older people; policy responses to population ageing and to disparities in child well-being; horizontal and vertical equity in the transfer and tax systems; changes in the Australian tax-benefit system and its impact on working age people and their families, with comparisons through time (since the early 1970s) and across other rich countries.
The workshop presented an opportunity to discuss recent family policy developments in a range of OECD countries, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The discussions focused on prospects for future reforms in these countries and on ways to improve research and policy analysis in these areas.
The workshop presentations included:
- Child deprivation in Australia: Issues and Trends (PDF) (243 Kb)- Peter Saunders and Melissa Wong, UNSW
- Trends in Distributional Equity between Young and Old: Australia and the United Kingdom Compared (PDF) (3 Mb) - Gerry Redmond, UNSW and Jonathan Bradshaw, University of York
- Are Young People’s Outcomes Linked to their Sense of Control? (PDF) (1 Mb) - Deborah Cobb-Clark, University of Melbourne
- Developmental outcomes for young children of immigrants in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA (PDF) (179 Kb) - Bruce Bradbury, University of New South Wales (with Elizabeth Washbrook, University of Bristol, Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University & London School of Economics, Miles Corak, University of Ottawa & IZA, Ali Akbar Ghanghro, University of Ottawa)
- Locational differences in young people’s experiences of economic adversity (PDF) (440 Kb)- Jen Skattebol, UNSW
- Attitudes, Aspirations and Belonging of Cultural and Religious Minority Youth in Australia (PDF) (4 Mb)- Jock Collins, UTS
- The cultural and gendered nature of belonging and obligations for young people experiencing economic adversity: implications for school retention and employment aspirations (PDF) (333 Kb) - Jen Skattebol and Bettina Cass, UNSW
- Developments in Family Policy in Australia: A Preliminary Assessment (PDF) (453 Kb)- Elizabeth Adamson, Gerry Redmond, Philip Hayes and Peter Whiteford, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales
- Trends and Prospects for Families in Ireland (PDF) (454 Kb)- Brian Nolan, School of Applied Social Science, University College, Dublin
- Measuring the size and impact of public cash support for children in cross-national perspective (PDF) (313 Kb) - Holly Sutherland, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex
- Measuring Child Poverty in the United States: Concepts, Methods, Measures, and Policy Implications (PDF) (528 Kb) - Michael Wiseman, George Washington Institute of Public Policy, Washington D.C.
- Taxes and Transfers in New Zealand (PDF) (183 Kb): History and Future Developments - David Rea, Institute for Policy Studies, Victoria University Wellington
- Lone Parents, Child Support and Child Poverty - Mathew Taylor, Australian Institute of Family Studies and Matthew Gray, Research school of Social Sciences, Australian National University
