This paper discusses the contribution that demographers can make to the study of disadvantage. Demographers from Malthus onwards have been interested in analysing disadvantage through the lens of demographic variables, notably fertility, mortality and population growth, and their effect on poverty and welfare, both at an aggregate level and in terms of intra-household differences in well-being. The methodology of demography, including the concern with getting denominators right, cohort analysis and standardization procedures, can contribute to the analysis of disadvantage in many different ways. As examples, this paper highlights two issues: that of inequality of access to quality education, and the social and economic disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australians. The goal of understanding the causes of disadvantage with a view to reducing it may be best served through multidisciplinary efforts, in which demographers should play a role.
Keywords: poverty, methodology, measurement, disadvantage, inequality, high fertility, educationIn a world of inequality and injustice, does the demographer have something fresh and insightful to say about disadvantage, based on the methodology of demography or on particular ways in which demographers view the world? Just as importantly, are there insights from other disciplines of which the demographer needs to be aware? This paper is an attempt to explore these questions, focusing, admittedly selectively, on a number of areas where a demographer's perspective is likely to be relevant. First, different definitions and approaches to the measurement of disadvantage are reviewed, followed by a brief foray into the debate about poverty trends and inequality. The traditional areas of demographic concern -the relationship between population growth and human welfare -are touched on briefly. These relationships can be addressed at an aggregate level, or at a household or individual level. The focus on the effects of population growth on well-being can also be based on population growth disaggregated into its components. Fertility is briefly touched on in the discussion, but not mortality or migration, either of which could provide adequate material for a separate paper.The largest sections of the paper discuss disadvantage through the examples of education, drawing on material from both the developing and the developed countries, and the situation of Indigenous Australians. The choice of these two examples for a demographer's perspective on disadvantage is based on no more than some