This study was called Lost without translation.
Analysis of the likely impacts of the global economic crisis on the distribution of advantage and disadvantage in Victoria – Victorian Government: Department of Planning and Community
The project objectives were to:
- develop a range of measures for quantifying the proportion of disadvantaged households in each Victorian local government area (LGA) with an emphasis on metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong, and to
- project by LGA the changes in disadvantage to mid 2012 that could occur as a result of the global financial crisis, using three scenarios.
The main emphasis was placed on the central scenario, which was closely aligned with Victorian Treasury expectations current in mid-2009. As at the end of 2009, this scenario was tracking as expected.
LGAs were selected as the unit of analysis for several reasons. LGAs are established administrative units, and responsibility for many social programs both local and state is allocated by LGA. Much of the relevant data is available primarily at the LGA level, and people are used to interpreting data presented at this level. On the other hand, the ideal unit for social area analysis is arguably smaller than the LGA – disadvantaged people tend to be less mobile than their peers. Average rates of disadvantage at the LGA level fail to identify quite substantial disadvantaged areas where these occur in LGAs which also include advantaged areas within their boundaries. Cases in point are Corio (included within Greater Geelong, and counterbalanced by Newtown, West Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula) and Broadmeadows (included within Hume, and counterbalanced by Sunbury).
Benefit to client
The study identified areas of social disadvantage following the GFC. This enabled the client to improve its planning for deployment of resources following the GFC.
