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Living Standards Measure

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The Living Standards Measure or LSM is a marketing and research tool ( same as social economic class: SEC but more refine ) used in South Africa to classify standard of living and disposable income. It segments the population into ten deciles based on their relative means, with LSM 1 being the decile with the least means and 10 being the decile with the greatest means. It does this by ranking people based on ownership of the components of a standard basket of goods (which varies over time). For instance, those people who owned a television set would rank higher in the LSM than those who did not.[1]

In effect, the LSM is an income inequality metric, despite specifically excluding income as one of the tested metric.[2] Its components are reflective of the fact that South Africa has a high Gini coefficient.[3]

Current Variables

The current (2015) basket of variables used to calculate LSM is[citation needed]:

  • Metropolitan dweller (250 000+)
  • Living in a non-urban area
  • House / Cluster House / Town House
  • Tap water in house / on plot
  • Flush Toilet inside house
  • Hot running water
  • Built in Kitchen Sink
  • No Domestic Workers or Gardeners
  • Home security service
  • 2 Cellphones in Household
  • 3 or more Cellphones in Household
  • Zero or One Radio set in Household
  • Air conditioner (excl. fans)
  • Television set(s)
  • Swimming Pool
  • DVD Player / Blu Ray Player
  • Refrigerator or combined fridge/freezer
  • Electric Stove
  • Microwave oven
  • Deep Freezer - Free Standing
  • Washing machine
  • Tumble dryer
  • Dishwasher
  • PayTV (M-net / DSTV / TopTV) Subscription
  • Home Theatre System
  • Vacuum Cleaner
  • Motor Vehicle in Household
  • Computer - Desktop / Laptop
  • Land line telephone (excl. Cellphone)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Living Standards Measure". South African Audience Research Foundation. South African Audience Research Foundation. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  2. ^ Ruch, Werner (July 2014). "Measuring poverty in SA" (PDF). The Fieldworker. Vol. 5. Stats SA. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. ^ "South Africa Overview". The World Bank. The World Bank. Retrieved 20 December 2016.


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