ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an overview of the development of poverty research in Australia, focusing on the impact of Seebohm Rowntree's first study of poverty in York. It reviews some of the Australian evidence on the extent of poverty, summarises the debates generated by that research and outlines work on poverty and living standards including the Adequacy Project launched there by the Department of Social Security. The book draws on a number of studies in Merseyside to examine the relationship between poverty, problematic drug misuse and social exclusion. It also draws on the 1991 census to compare the material deprivation of white and ethnic minority populations of children. The book assesses the adequacy of present day social security benefits by seeing how Rowntree's dietaries would costs today.
