Defining the minimum standard of living: Differences in perceptions and difficulties in decision-making

This article discusses empirical and conceptional issues related to the emp irical assessment of the minimum standard of living with representative sur vey data from Germany. One focus is on the question as to why and to what e xtent people in different life situations (e.g. type of household, age, edu cation, region) hold heterogenous views regarding the importance of a wide range of items relevant to the standard of living. Using multivariate metho ds it is shown that these views vary substantively for only a limited range of items. Substantial variation is found with respect to their overall ava ilability in society as well as individual possession of them. Regarding th e measurement of the extent of participation in the general standard of liv ing by means of deprivation indices it can be demonstrated that different p rocedures of calculation lead to results that show an extreme degree of int ercorrelation. From this it is concluded that it is not necessary to reflec t the small observed differences in perceptions by devising weighted indice s.