ABSTRACT
This chapter evaluates the pro-poorness of Australia's economic growth in the last decade using the alternative concepts and approaches to the measurement of pro-poor growth. Widely discussed in the context of income-poor countries, pro-poor growth analysis can also be very useful for learning about the nature and effects of growth in rich countries. Indeed, pro-poor growth measures provide valuable insights about the distributional consequences of economic growth that could not be obtained from standard inequality and poverty studies. This chapter contributes to the existing literature on poverty and income distribution in Australia by evaluating the pro-poorness of Australian growth between 2001 and 2008. The characterisation of pro-poor growth has attracted much attention from the research and policy communities concerned with economic development. Economic growth, defined as the increase in the average income per capita, affects the incidence and depth of poverty.
