Health, Wellbeing and Disadvantage
While standards of living are at a historical high, significant diversity exists within the population, as individuals are exposed to different opportunities and experiences over the life course. This research theme is broadly divided into three strands. The first aims to develop and refine measures of wellbeing and economic opportunity in Australia. The second strand focuses on barriers to economic participation by disadvantaged subgroups and how their access to economic opportunities might be improved. Subgroups of interest include people living in poverty, sole parents, long-term older renters, the unemployed, and people with disabilities. The third strand looks more broadly at the links between health and wellbeing and economic or social participation. For instance, how do health conditions affect future economic and social outcomes? What role do working conditions (e.g. flexible working practices) play in driving life satisfaction? What are the employment outcomes of people with caring responsibilities?
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The latest report in the BCEC Focus on WA report series, Housing Affordability in Western Australia 2023: Building for the future, compares housing affordability in WA to other jurisdictions for both homeowners and renters to get a sense of where WA sits. This... Read article
In the uncertain and volatile times that we have experienced during the last few years it has never been more important to have available strong, independent, and trusted research that addresses the critical issues affecting society. With COVID-19, the housing... Read article
Poor-quality and overcrowded housing in remote communities in Australia is widely seen to negatively impact Indigenous children’s health and development. Despite widespread reports of, in some instances, quite appalling housing conditions, recent analyses of data from the Longitudinal Study of... Read article
Access to energy and water is essential for people’s health, wellbeing and security, and to meet all of their basic needs. This is recognised in the United Nations Development, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable which sets out the goals of ensuring... Read article
Almost half of the world population lives in rural and remote areas facing more challenging and hazardous life conditions than the rest of the population. This paper and proposed method contribute to addressing an apparent gap in modelling travel-related decisions... Read article
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre team acknowledges the Wadjuk Nyungar people as the traditional owners of the land on which the Centre is situated.