Skip to main content

A Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Wellbeing in Australia

Journal of Happiness Studies volume 17, pages 2503–2525 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

The Indigenous people of Australia are severely disadvantaged according to a range of objective indicators. Unfortunately, the use of subjective indicators has been largely absent from the Indigenous policy domain. This is problematic because many things that matter to Indigenous peoples cannot be measured objectively. This paper addresses this gap; specifically, we employ a range of econometric techniques and Australian household data to explore the subjective wellbeing of Indigenous Australians in relation to: (1) levels of life satisfaction; (2) inequality in life satisfaction; (3) the prevalence and severity of dissatisfaction; and (4) determinants of life satisfaction. Results indicate that Indigenous life satisfaction peaked in 2003 and has since declined, and inequality in life satisfaction is greater for Indigenous than non-Indigenous Australians. Further, while the determinants of life satisfaction for non-Indigenous Australians are consistent with existing evidence and a priori expectations, the results for Indigenous Australians differ in many respects.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Notes

  1. The value for Indigenous Australians was calculated using a similar method to that employed by Yap and Biddle (2010).

  2. Stata/SE 13.1 is used throughout the data analysis

  3. Following Paul and Guilbert (2013) we define peer groups by age and education, whereby all those who are within 15 % of the individual's age and have attained the same level of education form the peer group. This means, for example, that a 20 year old male compares himself only with those people aged between 17–23 years within his education category, while a 50 years old male will compare himself only with those people aged between 43–57 years within his education category.

  4. As noted by a reviewer, the coefficients from the regressions on the determinants of well-being for Indigenous and non-Indigenous cannot be compared directly, as these refer to odds ratios.

  5. Noting that the lack of variance in Indigenous income over time may impede parameter identification in the fixed effects model, in unreported results we re-estimate Eq. (3) using a pooled ordered probit model for the Indigenous sample. Results from this re-estimation confirm the negative and now statistically significant coefficient for income.

References

  • Ambrey, C., & Fleming, C. (2014). Life satisfaction in Australia: Evidence from ten years of the HILDA survey. Social Indicators Research, 115(2), 691–714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide deaths. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3309.02~010~Chapter~Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+suicide+deaths?OpenDocument. Accessed 5 Nov 2014.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014). Exploring the gap in labour market outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0main+features72014. Accessed 4 Oct 2014.

  • Australian Government (2013). Closing the gap: The indigenous reform agenda. http://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/indigenous-australians/programs-services/closing-the-gap. Accessed 21 Aug 2014.

  • Australian Government. (2014). Indigenous affairs. Canberra: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baetschmann, G., Staub, K., & Winkelmann, R. (2015). Consistent estimation of the fixed effects ordered logit model. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 178(3), 685–703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2001). Do people mean what they say? Implications for subjective survey data. The American Economic Review, 91(2), 67–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biddle, N. (2014a). Measuring and analysing the wellbeing of Australia’s indigenous population. Social Indicators Research, 116(3), 713–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biddle, N. (2014b). The relationship between community and individual measures of wellbeing: Comparisons by remoteness for Indigenous Australians. Australian Geographer, 45(1), 53–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biddle, N., & Prout, S. (2014). Recent change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and housing geographies. Geographical Research, 52(2), 133–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boes, S., & Winkelmann, R. (2010). The effect of income on general life satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 95(1), 111–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, S., Draca, M., Green, C., & Leeves, G. (2007). The magnitude of educational disadvantage of indigenous minority groups in Australia. Journal of Population Economics, 20(3), 547–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brough, M., Bond, C., & Hunt, J. (2004). Strong in the city: Towards a strength-based approach in Indigenous health promotion. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 15(3), 215–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browne-Yung, K., Ziersch, A., Baum, F., & Gallaher, G. (2013). Aboriginal Australians’ experience of social capital and its relevance to health and wellbeing in urban settings. Social Science and Medicine, 97(1), 20–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Council of Australian Governments (2014). Closing the gap in indigenous disadvantage. https://www.coag.gov.au/closing_the_gap_in_indigenous_disadvantage. Accessed 4 Oct 2014.

  • Council of Australian Governments Reform Council. (2014). Indigenous reform 2012–2013: Five years of performance. Report to the Council of Australian Governments. Sydney: COAG Reform Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Inglehart, R., & Tay, L. (2013). Theory and validity of life satisfaction scales. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 497–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietsch, E., Martin, T., Shackleton, P., Davies, C., McLeod, M., & Alston, M. (2011). Australian aboriginal kinship: A means to enhance maternal well-being. Women and Birth, 24(2), 58–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dockery, A. (2010). Culture and wellbeing: The case of Indigenous Australians. Social Indicators Research, 99(2), 315–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, P., & White, M. (2007). How can measures of subjective well-being be used to inform public policy? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(1), 71–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., & Frijters, P. (2004). How important is methodology for the estimates of the determinants of happiness? The Economic Journal, 114(497), 641–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frijters, P., Haisken-DeNew, J., & Shields, M. (2004). Money does matter! Evidence from increasing real income and life satisfaction in East Germany following reunification. American Economic Review, 94(3), 730–740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, C. (2008). HILDA standard errors: User guide. HILDA Project Technical Paper Series. Melbourne: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.

  • Headey, B., Muffels, R., & Wagner, G. (2013). Choices which change life satisfaction: Similar results for Australia. Britain and Germany. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 725–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R. C., Griffiths, W., & Lim, G. (2008). Principles of econometrics (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Krueger, A. (2006). Developments in the measurement of subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 3–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Sugden, R. (2005). Experienced utility as a standard of policy evaluation. Environmental & Resource Economics, 32(1), 161–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Thaler, R. (2006). Utility maximization and experienced utility. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 221–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmijn, W., & Veenhoven, R. (2005). Measuring inequality of happiness in nations: In search for proper statistics. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6(4), 357–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, K., Dudgeon, P., Gee, G., & Glaskin, B. (2009). Living on the edge: Social and emotional wellbeing and risk and protective factors for serious psychological distress among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association and Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health Discussion Paper No. 10. Casuarina, Northern Territory: Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.

  • Kimmel, J. (1997). Rural wages and returns to education: Differences between whites, blacks, and American Indians. Economics of Education Review, 16(1), 81–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, P., & Sweetman, A. (2002). Aboriginals as unwilling immigrants: Contact, assimilation and labour market outcomes. Journal of Population Economics, 15(2), 331–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Layard, R. (2006). Happiness and public policy: A challenge to the profession. Economic Journal, 116(510), c24–c33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R., & Donnellan, M. (2012). Estimating the reliability of single-item life satisfaction measures: Results from four national panel studies. Social Indicators Research, 105(3), 232–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maani, S. (2004). Why have Maori relative income levels deteriorated over time? Economic Record, 80(248), 101–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, G., Swannell, S., Harrison, J., Hazell, P., & Taylor, A. (2010). The Australian National Epidemiological Study of Self-Injury (ANESSI). Brisbane, Australia: Centre for Suicide Prevention Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalfe, R., Powdthavee, N., & Dolan, P. (2011). Destruction and distress: Using a quasi-experiment to show the effects of the September 11 attacks on mental well-being in the United Kingdom. The Economic Journal, 121(550), F81–F103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, K., Baum, F., & Brown, L. (2013). What works? A review of actions addressing the social and economic determinants of indigenous health. Closing the Gap Clearinghouse: Australian Government.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Parliament of Australia (2014). Constitutional Reform - Indigenous peoples and local government. http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/ConstReform. Accessed 16 Oct 2014.

  • Paul, S., & Guilbert, D. (2013). Income–happiness paradox in Australia: Testing the theories of adaptation and social comparison. Economic Modelling, 30(1), 900–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shields, M., & Wooden, M. (2003). Investigating the role of neighbourhood characteristics in determining life satisfaction. Canberra: Paper prepared for the Department of Family and Community Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shields, M., Price, S., & Wooden, M. (2009). Life satisfaction and the economic and social characteristics of neighbourhoods. Journal of Population Economics, 22(2), 421–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sortino, F. (2010). The Sortino framework for constructing portfolios: Focusing on desired target return to optimize upside potential relative to downside risk. Boston: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J.-P. (2009). Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Paris.

  • Tomyn, A., Cummins, R., & Norrish, J. (2014). The subjective wellbeing of ‘at-risk’ Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adolescents. Journal of Happiness Studies,. doi:10.1007/s10902-014-9535-2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uchida, Y., Norasakkunkit, V., & Kitayama, S. (2004). Cultural constructions of happiness: Theory and emprical evidence. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5(3), 223–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Development Programme (2014). Table 2: Human Development Index trends, 1980–2013. http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-2-human-development-index-trends-1980-2013. Accessed 4 Oct 2014.

  • United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. (2006). Report of the meeting on indigenous peoples and indicators of wellbeing. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (2005). Return of inequality in modern society? Test by dispersion of life-satisfaction across time and nations. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6(4), 457–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterworth, P., Rosenberg, M., Braham, R., Pescud, M., & Dimmock, J. (2014). The effect of social support on the health of Indigenous Australians in a metropolitan community. Social Science and Medicine, 119(1), 139–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, N., & Wooden, M. (2010). The HILDA survey: Progress and future developments. The Australian Economic Review, 43(3), 326–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, N., & Wooden, M. (2012). The HILDA survey: A case study in the design and development of a successful household panel study. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 3(3), 369–381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, N., & Wooden, M. (2014). Re-engaging with survey non-respondents: Evidence from three household panels. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 177(2), 499–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wooden, M., & Li, N. (2014). Panel conditioning and subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 117(1), 235–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yap, M., & Biddle, N. (2010). Gender gaps in Indigenous socioeconomic outcomes: Australian regional comparisons and international possibilities. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 1(2), 3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This paper uses unit record data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The HILDA Project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to either DSS or the Melbourne Institute. Thanks also to Professor Adrian Miller, Bronwyn Wolski and Samantha de Lore of Griffith University’s Indigenous Research Unit who hosted the authors while this research was undertaken. Thanks also to anonymous reviewers for their constructive and insightful comments. All errors and omissions remain our own.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, Copland Building No. 24, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Matthew Manning

  2. Urban Research Program, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia

    Christopher L. Ambrey

  3. Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia

    Christopher M. Fleming

Authors
  1. Matthew Manning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher L. Ambrey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Christopher M. Fleming
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher M. Fleming.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Manning, M., Ambrey, C.L. & Fleming, C.M. A Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Wellbeing in Australia. J Happiness Stud 17, 2503–2525 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9704-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9704-y

Keywords

  • Dissatisfaction
  • Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey
  • Indigenous Australians
  • Inequality
  • Life satisfaction
  • Subjective wellbeing