Standard of living
The standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. This concept serves as a contributing factor to an individual's quality of life while generally focusing on objective metrics outside personal control. Economic, societal, political, and environmental matters shape these external conditions that define daily existence. Individuals or groups use this measure to evaluate where to live in the world. They also apply it when assessing the success of their own society. The definition varies between individuals depending on different aspects of life. Access to food, clean water, shelter, social safety, and qualitative interaction form the fundamentals of this standard. These elements contribute directly to wellbeing and what is considered a decent living standard.
In international law, an adequate standard of living was first described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was further described in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Commentators use a number of different measures and approaches to establish the decent living standard. The decent living standard revolves around the idea and principle that a majority of the population demand the fundamentals that will allow them to have shelter, food and water. However, these fundamentals are not always able to be maintained for a long period of time. Different disciplines have defined Decent Living Standards in order to evaluate or compare relative living experience. To evaluate the impact of policy for sustainable development, various frameworks now exist alongside these legal definitions.
During much of its use in economics, improvements to standard of living were thought to be directly connected to economic growth. This historical view also linked progress to an increase amount of energy consumption and other materials. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report found that literature demonstrates that improvements in sustainable development practices change this equation. Changes in technological efficiency and energy production and use allow for a Decent Living Standard for all people without fossil fuels. Research suggests ~15.3 GJ per capita by the end of the 21st century is achievable. This allows for climate change mitigation by demand reduction as well as other sustainable development practices. Modern findings challenge the old belief that material wealth requires endless resource extraction.
Standard of living might be evaluated using a number of characteristics including as the quality and availability of employment. Real income, disposable income, class disparity, and poverty rate form key metrics used by scholars. Quality and housing affordability matter alongside hours of work required to purchase necessities. Gross domestic product, inflation rate, and national economic growth provide macroeconomic context. Access to and quality of healthcare, quality and availability of education, and literacy rates offer social indicators. Life expectancy and occurrence of diseases serve as biological measures of population health. Cost of goods and services, infrastructure, and access to public transportation round out practical assessments. For the purposes of economics, politics and policy, it is usually compared across time or between groups defined by social, economic or geographical parameters. The standard of living varies between individuals depending on different aspects of life.
The idea of a standard may be contrasted with the quality of life, which takes into account not only the material standard of living but also other more intangible aspects that make up human life. Leisure, safety, cultural resources, social life, physical health, and environmental quality issues all factor into this broader concept. There is also the biological standard of living, which pertains to how well the human biological organism fares in its socio-economic environment. It is often measured by the height of a population. Examples are access to certain goods such as the number of refrigerators per 1000 people. Measurement of health such as life expectancy provides another data point. It is the ease by which people living in a time or place are able to satisfy their needs and wants. Lists include cost-of-living index, disposable household and per capita income, and housing costs as percentage of gross income.
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Common questions
What is the standard of living?
The standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. This concept serves as a contributing factor to an individual's quality of life while generally focusing on objective metrics outside personal control.
When was the adequate standard of living first described in international law?
An adequate standard of living was first described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was further described in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
How much energy per capita is achievable for a Decent Living Standard by the end of the 21st century?
Research suggests ~15.3 GJ per capita by the end of the 21st century is achievable. Changes in technological efficiency and energy production and use allow for a Decent Living Standard for all people without fossil fuels.
Which metrics do scholars use to evaluate the standard of living?
Real income, disposable income, class disparity, and poverty rate form key metrics used by scholars. Gross domestic product, inflation rate, and national economic growth provide macroeconomic context alongside access to healthcare and education.
What is the difference between the standard of living and the quality of life?
The idea of a standard may be contrasted with the quality of life, which takes into account not only the material standard of living but also other more intangible aspects that make up human life. Leisure, safety, cultural resources, social life, physical health, and environmental quality issues all factor into this broader concept.