4 ms·

Economists usually use the (local) cost of a "basket of goods" to figure that out. What goes into the basket is a political choice, though.

dalbasal 9y ago
That would be income adjusted for PPP, similar to adjusted for inflation. Still not quite what the OP wants, I suspect. I think we means "how many people earn enough to live decently, but that's hard. I might be a 20 to student in Paris living on €1,200, consider myself fairly well off. House-sharing, couch surfing holidays, €1 drinks every Tuesday ..student living. A 40 yo might consider this a poverty income. "Getting by" generally seems objective enough at first glance (rent on basic accomodation, etc), but culture and expectations play a big role. Also expectations about the future and stuff. Basically , it's complicated. ..and outside the scope of an "measure," imo. I think it's more useful to construct a picture from several simpler, more objective sources. Add up "living costs" to get your "minimum decent living' and then see how many people/households/workers have that much income. It's never gonna be a real measure though, because "decent living" depends on circumstances.
edanm 9y ago
An answer to you and to most of the other comments in this thread: This isn't what I was getting at. Take for example university students. Their earning power is significantly smaller than more experienced people. They also tend to need a lot less money, because they're usually single, don't often have a mortgage, live in a small apartment or in their parent's house, etc. Many students work part-time in a restaurant or similar. For them, this will probably be a "livable wage", whether because their needs are smaller as discussed, or because they're relying to some extent on their parents. Take another person of the same age, but who has a family and no parents for support, and assume they earn the same. For them, this same wage is not livable. How would you statistically separate these cases? I'm not saying there isn't a way, I'm just wondering what it is!

dalbasal 9y ago

That would be income adjusted for PPP, similar to adjusted for inflation. Still not quite what the OP wants, I suspect. I think we means "how many people earn enough to live decently, but that's hard. I might be a 20 to student in Paris living on €1,200, consider myself fairly well off. House-sharing, couch surfing holidays, €1 drinks every Tuesday ..student living. A 40 yo might consider this a poverty income. "Getting by" generally seems objective enough at first glance (rent on basic accomodation, etc), but culture and expectations play a big role. Also expectations about the future and stuff. Basically , it's complicated. ..and outside the scope of an "measure," imo. I think it's more useful to construct a picture from several simpler, more objective sources. Add up "living costs" to get your "minimum decent living' and then see how many people/households/workers have that much income. It's never gonna be a real measure though, because "decent living" depends on circumstances.

edanm 9y ago

An answer to you and to most of the other comments in this thread: This isn't what I was getting at. Take for example university students. Their earning power is significantly smaller than more experienced people. They also tend to need a lot less money, because they're usually single, don't often have a mortgage, live in a small apartment or in their parent's house, etc. Many students work part-time in a restaurant or similar. For them, this will probably be a "livable wage", whether because their needs are smaller as discussed, or because they're relying to some extent on their parents. Take another person of the same age, but who has a family and no parents for support, and assume they earn the same. For them, this same wage is not livable. How would you statistically separate these cases? I'm not saying there isn't a way, I'm just wondering what it is!