Sociologically considering Australia’s rising cost-of-living as structural violence

Vasileos Markousis, Angela T Ragusa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

The rising cost-of-living is a topical issue in contemporary Australian media and politics. This paper presents findings from a qualitative integrative-narrative literature review (INLR) to identify what disciplinary lenses and methods have been undertaken to academically research this topic. Findings reveal Australian cost-of-living research mainly uses economic and/or policy lenses. Despite being a field that analyses the social causes and consequences of public issues, sociology is notably absent from this literature, despite its applicability for deepening understanding, and informing policy and systemic changes, related to the associated issues of housing, food insecurity and
poverty that recent ‘cost-of-living-crisis’ discourse has identified. This paper advocates the usefulness of sociology for examining social conditions derived from the higher cost-of-living facing working Australians. By critically reviewing the research literature, it answers the research question, ‘Does struggling to meet the cost of living constitute structural violence in Australia?’ The INLR collected a complete sample of all articles in two social-science databases that researched Australian cost-of-living to identify what issues and disciplinary lens were used. Articles were analysed using structural violence theory to identify methodological biases, foci, and content limitations. Findings reveal research gaps, specifically minimal sociological investigation, the predominance of economic and psychological research, quantitative bias, and focus on cost-ofliving consequences, rather than systemic causes. Conclusions recommend existing knowledge gaps be remedied so an evidence-based approach may generate more comprehensive data of use to policymakers and organisations briefed with addressing this complex social problem.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-13
Number of pages13
JournalGlocality
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 07 Nov 2024

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