Demystifying
SEIFA
Jeff Wright
Peter Radisich
Socio-Economic Indexes For Areas
Socio
Economic
Indexes
For
Areas
Concept of Interest:
Relative Advantage and Disadvantage
Concept of Interest:
Relative Advantage and Disadvantage
Broadly define in terms of people’s
access to material & social resources,
and ability to participate in society
No post-school
qualifications
High Income
Unemployed
Employed as
Professional
Concept of Interest:
Relative Advantage and Disadvantage
Access to
Broadband
Number of
bedrooms
One parent
families
Low Income
Needs
assistance
with core
activities
No post-school
qualifications
Employed as
Professional
High Income
Unemployed
Concept of Interest:
Relative Advantage and Disadvantage
Access to
Broadband
High number
of bedrooms
One parent
families
Low Income
Needs
assistance
with core
activities
No post-school
qualifications
High Income
Unemployed
Employed as
Professional
Concept of Interest:
Relative Advantage and Disadvantage
INDEX SCORE
Access to
Broadband
High number
of bedrooms
One parent
families
Low Income
Needs
assistance
with core
activities
Socio-Economic Indexes For Areas
The four indexes
Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage
Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage &
Disadvantage
Index of Economic Resources
Index of Education & Occupation
Socio-Economic Indexes For Areas
• The indexes apply at an area level
- Summary of all people living in the area
- Note: Socio-economic status of people within
an area will vary.
Base (smallest) area used:
In the past
Census Collection Districts (CD)
SEIFA 2011
Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1)
(average population size =
approximately 500)
(population size =
approximately 300 to 400)
SEIFA is also released for larger areas
Product from 2006
Targeting areas
for business &
services
Strategic
Planning
Applications of SEIFA
Plus tips on good use
Design of
sample
surveys
Social &
Economic
Research
Index of Relative Advantage & Disadvantage:
Quintiles by Statistical Local Area, Melbourne, 2006
Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage & Disadvantage:
Top and bottom deciles, CD Level, Melbourne, 2006
Legend
Top Decile
(Most Advantaged)
Bottom Decile
(Most Disadvantaged)
2
Excluded CDs
(No Index Score)
Using SEIFA for Social Research
Index of Economic Resources decile for CD
A further example: Proportion of people reporting fair/poor health, by Index
of Economic Resources decile (2006)
lowest
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
highest
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
Proportion of people reporting fair/poor health
Source of Health Data: ABS National Health Survey, 2004-05
Say you were standing with one foot
in the oven and one foot in an ice
bucket. According to the percentage
people, you should be perfectly
comfortable.
Bobby Bragan, 1963
Diversity of socio-economic characteristics within areas
An example from Australia:
Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage:
Deciles, CD Level, Campbelltown North, 2006
Good Use of SEIFA - Summary
Good Use of SEIFA - Key Points
• SEIFA is for area level analysis
– Interpretation if using for individuals, represents the
surrounding area, not the individual!
• Interpretation (health analysis)
– A greater proportion of people living in the most
disadvantaged 10% of CDs report fair/poor health
• Ecological fallacy
– A greater proportion of the 10% most disadvantaged
people report fair/poor health
– Why? A person who reports fair/poor health may live
in a disadvantaged area, but not be disadvantaged
themselves
Accessing SEIFA
Free of charge on the ABS website
Take home messages
• Summary measures with many applications
• Free of charge
• SEIFA 2011 will be released early 2013
Additional Slides
For discussion purposes & answering
questions
SEIFA 2011 – Geography
SA1 will be the base level
ABS Structures – ASGS
SA1 : score
SA2 : score + distribution
SA3 : score + distribution
SA4 : distribution
State : distribution
Example of Distribution Measure:
Non-ABS Structures (constructed
using 'best fit' correspondences)
SLA : score + distribution
LGA : score + distribution
SSC : score + distribution
POA : score + distribution
CED : distribution (not SED)
Index of Advantage &
Disadvantage
high/low income
high/low education
high/low occupation
housing
broadband internet
disability
good for identifying
advantaged OR
disadvantaged areas
Index of Disadvantage
low income
low education
low occupation
housing
disability
Indigenous status
poor English
good for focusing on
disadvantaged areas
Index of Economic
Resources
income
housing size/cost
tenure type
business owners
good for focusing on
financial aspects of
advantage/disadvantage
Index of Education
& Occupation
education
occupation
employment
good for focusing on
education/occupation
Using SEIFA for Social Research
Proportion of total population (all ages)
Example: Investigating the relationship between socio-economic status & age
25%
20%
15%
% under 15 years
10%
% over 64 years
5%
0%
Decile of IRSAD
IRSAD = Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage & Disadvantage (2006)
Using SEIFA for Social Research
Proportion of adults with ‘high’ or ‘very high’ mental distress, by Index of Relative
Advantage and Disadvantage decile
Index of Relative Advantage and
Disadvantage decile for CD
lowest
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
highest
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
Proportion of adults with 'high' or 'very high' mental distress
Source of Health Data: ABS National Health Survey, 2004-05
Postal Area: 2617
25,476 people
State Suburb
3,057 people
Statistical Local Area Census Collection District
3,057 people
649 people
income
high income
low income
10 most
disadvantaged CDs
11%
31%
Australia
24%
17%
10 most
advantaged CDs
79%
2%
education
no qualifications
61%
49%
25%
Internet access
broadband access
no internet access
21%
62%
41%
37%
80%
10%
occupation
unemployed
Labourers
Professionals
13%
18%
15%
5%
11%
20%
2%
2%
42%
housing
high mortgage
high rent payments
low rent payments
household overcrowding
"rent social"
16%
11%
51%
9%
27%
19%
18%
16%
3%
5%
77%
87%
1%
0%
0%