- Report: Death Rates Between Rich and Poor
- Final PIP Report
- "Hotspots" Revealed by Cancer Atlas
- Water Quality Becomes Top Environmental Concern
- World Bank Study: Economic Growth in the 1990s
Resources Available
Report: Death Rates Between Rich and Poor
Death rates fell for all income groups during the 1980s and 1990s but relative gaps in death rates between rich and poor still widened. That's the main conclusion from a report called "Decades of Disparity II: Socio-economic mortality trends in NZ, 1981-99", jointly released by the Ministry of Health and the University of Otago.
Comparing the third of the adult NZers with lowest incomes to the third of the population with highest incomes, disparities in mortality rates among men increased from 43 percent in 1981-94 to 72 percent in 1996-99, and from 27 percent to 50 percent among women.
The research findings show that if low and middle income groups had enjoyed the same death rate as the high income group in the late 1990s there would have been about 3,600 fewer deaths per annum among 25-77 year olds (this number of deaths is similar to deaths from tobacco).
Other findings from the report include:
- Among 25-44 year olds, the low-income group actually had no reduction in death rates. Yet middle and high-income 25-44 year olds enjoyed good falls in death rates. This means the differences in death rates increased most notably among young adults.
- Cardiovascular disease was the major contributor to disparities in adult deaths. But cancer deaths are becoming increasingly important drivers of socio-economic differences in mortality - both lung cancer and other cancers.
- Suicide rates among young adults increased most among lower socio-economic groups during the 1980s and 1990s.
- Differences by socio-economic group in injury deaths were roughly similar over the 1980s and 1990s, with the proviso that high-income and highly educated groups tended to enjoy lower death rates at all points in time.
The report can be found on the Ministry of Health website at www.moh.govt.nz
Final PIP Report
The Poverty Indicator Project (PIP) started in October 2000 and had three aims:
- strengthening NZCCSS (NZ council of Christian Social Services) and its members' data-gathering processes;
- obtaining regular and reliable information on poverty trends from NZCCSS members; and
- using this information to more effectively inform the public about poverty issues.
The report reveals that foodbank clients generally having a mix of issues - from women in poverty, struggling sole parent families, single people in poverty, Maori in poverty, low wage incomes, inadequate income for those who receive a benefit, unaffordable housing, unmanageable debt, insufficient income to pay utilities bills, and lack of phone access. Whilst the data collected in the project comes from only seven foodbanks, the report shows that such problems are likely to be affecting many people beyond just those who use a foodbank.
Trends identified over the course of the PIP include:
- numbers of applicants seeking foodbank services have decreased in six of the seven foodbanks which participated in the project;
- the percentage of respondent households that receive income solely from benefits has increased at five of the foodbanks;
- more women than men come to the foodbanks, with the exception of Wellington Downtown Community Mission Foodbank;
- around a third or more of those who come to foodbanks are sole parents (at six of the seven);
- half or more households have children (at six agencies);
- Maori are over-represented at each foodbank when compared to city census percentages;
- median and average weekly net incomes of foodbank clients are less than half that of the average NZ household;
- 70 percent or more of foodbank clients receive a benefit as their only source of income;
- more than 60 percent of foodbank clients spend greater than 30 percent of their net income on housing;
- the majority of applicants have debt (at six agencies);
- the most common form of housing is private rental accommodation for clients at six out of seven foodbanks; and
- debt to Work and Income is the most common type for foodbank clients with debt.
The report is divided into three sections. The first provides a background to the project, and places it in a context of economic and policy change in NZ since 2001. The second section presents a snapshot of key indicators from the project over its four years across the seven foodbanks who partnered with the NZCCSS. It also highlights a number of issues that have been consistently observed during the project. The third section of the report presents a summary of observed trends and patterns in the PIP data for each foodbank.
"Hotspots" Revealed by Cancer Atlas
The Health Ministry's "Atlas of Cancer Mortality 1994-2000" reveals considerable variation in the death rates for 19 different cancers across the 21 district health boards. It also highlights apparent cancer "hotspots" whose residents are significantly more likely than the rest of the country to die of five or more different types of cancer.
At the other end of the scale, people living in Wellington, Otago, Canterbury and Waitemata have significantly lower death rates for several cancer types, and higher rates for only one or fewer cancers. In addition, with the exception of Counties-Manukau, the bigger centres seem to do better.
The report also reveals ethnic disparities: Maori are about three times as likely to die of lung, stomach and liver cancers as non-Maori, but are less likely to die from colorectal cancer.
The report offers no explanation for the regional differences, but poverty, treatment quality and availability, access to doctors and ethnic makeup have all been raised as possible factors.
The report can be downloaded from the Ministry of Health website at www.moh.govt.nz
Water Quality Becomes Top Environmental Concern
NZers are being increasingly concerned about the quality of rivers, streams and lakes, with one in four rating them in a bad or very bad condition. In a biennial survey by environment specialists at Lincoln University, 19 percent of respondents ranked water quality as their main environmental concern, compared with only 10 percent in 2002. The response means that water quality has overtaken air pollution as NZers' leading environmental concern.
The survey of 2000 people found:
- pollution issues (air, water, and solid waste disposal) were rated as the most important environmental issue facing NZ;
- rivers and lakes, wetlands and marine fisheries were perceived to be in the worst state, but were still rated highly; a quarter of respondents (24 percent) rating them "very bad" or "bad";
- rivers and lakes, marine fisheries, and air quality were judged to be the least well managed of the 11 components of the environment studied (more than 30 percent of respondents considering management to be poor or extremely poor);
- management of farm effluent and runoff was perceived to be the least well managed of the environmental problems investigated;
- there was very strong support (52.8 percent) for a $20 per year increase in rates to fund lowland stream enhancement;
- there was very strong opposition to statements that more water could be extracted from large rivers for irrigation (56.9 percent opposed) and from lowland streams (72.2 percent opposed);
- NZers considered the state and management of the environment to be good and better than in other developed countries; and
- native forest and bush was rated to be in the best state of the 11 components of the environment studied.
The survey asked people to identify up to three main causes of damage to water in rivers and lakes, and to groundwater. Farming (43 percent) and sewage and stormwater (41 percent) were identified as the main causes of damage to water in rivers and lakes; and hazardous chemicals (33 percent) and sewage and stormwater (33 percent) were perceived to be the main causes of damage to groundwater. Farming, industry and waste disposal were also seen as important causes of damage to groundwater.
Regional responses differed significantly, with southerners more likely to have a positive view of their rivers and lakes. Northerners also rated their groundwater quality lower and were also more likely to feel water quality has declined in the past five years.
The central region had a significantly more positive view of current water quality than other regions. Of the ethnic groups, Maori were most likely to perceive water quality as bad and getting worse, whereas those of "other" ethnicities had quite positive assessments. Anglers were significantly more likely than non-anglers to perceive river and lake water quality as "bad".
World Bank Study: Economic Growth in the 1990s
The World Bank has released a new study that analyses economic growth in the 1990s and the development lessons that can be drawn from the reforms undertaken during this period. The "Economic Growth in the 1990s: Learning from a Decade of Reform" report reviews the growth impact of the main policy and institutional reforms introduced in the 1990s; presents a broad perspective on the events, country experiences, academic research and controversies of the decade; and reflects on how this alters the World Bank's thinking about economic growth.
Key findings include:
- Economic growth is central to poverty reduction.
- Uniform policy packages do not translate consistently into growth across countries.
- Country-specific strategies addressing the binding constraints to growth are most likely to be successful.
The report confirms the importance for growth of several fundamental principles: macro-stability, openness and market forces in the allocation of resources, but these principles translate into diverse policy and institutional paths.
The study can be accessed at http://www1.worldbank.org/prem/lessons1990s/index.htm |
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