Multiple outlets discuss the “misery index,” a measure created in the late 1960s to gauge how poorly people and countries feel based on economic and related conditions. The articles say the index is used as a way to compare perceived hardship over time and across places.
The sources focus on what the original measure includes—and what it does not. They note that the index was not designed with Australia’s Reserve Bank in mind, implying that major monetary policy and interest-rate decisions may not be directly reflected in the original framework. This is presented as a limitation when interpreting results for Australia, where central-bank settings can be closely tied to cost-of-living pressures.
Across the outlets, the shared angle is explanatory: they revisit the index’s origins and highlight the absence of central-bank policy as a specific component. While they use the same core premise, they frame the discussion with different levels of emphasis on why the index can feel less complete when applied to Australia.
