3 Minimum Essential Standards of Living research in Ireland
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Bernadette Mac Mahon
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the history and development of budget standards research in Ireland, from the Low Cost but Acceptable approach that was used to assess adequacy to the more recent adoptions of the Minimum Income Standards methodology. It talks about the Minimum Essential Standards of Living (MESL), which is rooted in social consensus about the goods and services that everyone in Ireland should be able to afford. It also discusses the United Nations’ definition of a “minimum acceptable standard of living.” The chapter analyzes the most recent MESL results that are discussed in the context of social welfare adequacy. It also points out how the MESL research has had an impact in policy debates around adequacy in Ireland.
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the history and development of budget standards research in Ireland, from the Low Cost but Acceptable approach that was used to assess adequacy to the more recent adoptions of the Minimum Income Standards methodology. It talks about the Minimum Essential Standards of Living (MESL), which is rooted in social consensus about the goods and services that everyone in Ireland should be able to afford. It also discusses the United Nations’ definition of a “minimum acceptable standard of living.” The chapter analyzes the most recent MESL results that are discussed in the context of social welfare adequacy. It also points out how the MESL research has had an impact in policy debates around adequacy in Ireland.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of tables and figures viii
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Preface from the series editors xx
- Foreword xxii
-
Introduction
- An introduction to minimum income standards and reference budgets: international and comparative policy perspectives 3
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Case studies
- From normative budget standards to consensual minimum income standards in the UK 27
- Minimum Essential Standards of Living research in Ireland 39
- The French experience of reference budgets 55
- Minimum income research in Japan: its development and political implications 67
- Measuring needs and setting standards in Singapore 83
- A South African pilot of the Minimum Income Standards approach 97
- Reference budgets as tools for everyday life, evaluation and policy making in Finland 109
- Belgian reference budgets for social participation and their use for policy purposes 123
- The development, value and application of budget standards: reflecting on the Australian experience 139
- Estimating the cost of raising a child in Catalonia through the reference budgets approach 155
- Measuring poverty in the Netherlands: the generalised reference budget approach 169
- The Norwegian reference budget 185
- Minimum budgets for Danish families 197
- The Swedish Consumer Agency’s calculations of reference values for some of the most common household expense categories 207
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Cross-national and comparative perspectives
- The Slovenian experience with three methods for defining the minimum income 227
- Applying the Minimum Income Standard in diverse national contexts 241
- The steep and winding road to comparable reference budgets in Europe 255
- Adequate income in Portugal: a comparison of two estimation methods 271
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Policy and practice
- Basic needs budgets in policy and practice 291
- Establishing a national standard: the role of the UK’s Minimum Income Standard in policy and practice 307
- Minimum Income Standards in the Basic Income debate 319
-
Conclusions
- Minimum income standards and reference budgets: past, present, future? 333
- Index 345
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of tables and figures viii
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Preface from the series editors xx
- Foreword xxii
-
Introduction
- An introduction to minimum income standards and reference budgets: international and comparative policy perspectives 3
-
Case studies
- From normative budget standards to consensual minimum income standards in the UK 27
- Minimum Essential Standards of Living research in Ireland 39
- The French experience of reference budgets 55
- Minimum income research in Japan: its development and political implications 67
- Measuring needs and setting standards in Singapore 83
- A South African pilot of the Minimum Income Standards approach 97
- Reference budgets as tools for everyday life, evaluation and policy making in Finland 109
- Belgian reference budgets for social participation and their use for policy purposes 123
- The development, value and application of budget standards: reflecting on the Australian experience 139
- Estimating the cost of raising a child in Catalonia through the reference budgets approach 155
- Measuring poverty in the Netherlands: the generalised reference budget approach 169
- The Norwegian reference budget 185
- Minimum budgets for Danish families 197
- The Swedish Consumer Agency’s calculations of reference values for some of the most common household expense categories 207
-
Cross-national and comparative perspectives
- The Slovenian experience with three methods for defining the minimum income 227
- Applying the Minimum Income Standard in diverse national contexts 241
- The steep and winding road to comparable reference budgets in Europe 255
- Adequate income in Portugal: a comparison of two estimation methods 271
-
Policy and practice
- Basic needs budgets in policy and practice 291
- Establishing a national standard: the role of the UK’s Minimum Income Standard in policy and practice 307
- Minimum Income Standards in the Basic Income debate 319
-
Conclusions
- Minimum income standards and reference budgets: past, present, future? 333
- Index 345
