A sutble difference. Full explanation in article below.
Q:
A colleague has asked me to explain how the SEIFA Index of disadvantage relates to the Index of advantage and disadvantage.
Do they relate or are they completely separate measures?
E.g. the IRSED for Macedon Ranges Shire is 1060 and the Index of advantage and disadvantage is 1047. Given that MRS is relatively advantaged, wouldn’t we expect the Index of advantage and disadvantage to be higher than the IRSED?
A:
Good question! I don’t get asked this too often. The difference is pretty subtle.
The Index of Disadvantage specifically measures aspects of disadvantage (such as high unemployment, large proportion of people in unskilled occupations, lots of people on low incomes etc.). A high score on this indicates a lack of disadvantaged populations, but not necessarily highly advantaged ones (they may just be close to average).
A high score on the Index of Advantage-Disadvantage index indicates both lack of disadvantage and the presence of highly advantaged groups (lots of managers and professionals, large houses, high incomes etc.).
So if an area has a large difference between their IRSED and their IRSAD, with the IRSAD being higher, this means there is a polarization in there – disadvantage which brings the area score down, but also advantage which brings it up. An area which is very disadvantaged with no particular advantage, or an area around the average with no particular disadvantage or advantage pockets will have scores on the two indexes that are close to the same.
I hope this helps!
Regards,
Glenn
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