Two older men walking dogs on the beach.

Direct Measurement Of Living Standards: The New Zealand ELSI Scale

Researchers recognised that the Material Wellbeing Scale needed modification if it was to be valid across the whole population. The survey of working-age people contained living standard measurement items but (unlike the survey of older people) included few potentially explanatory variables. Using the measurement items, the researchers developed the Economic Living Standard Index (ELSI), (broadly similar to the one for older people) that is applicable to the population as a whole. Using ELSI, researchers have been able to describe the living standards of New Zealanders in a new and revealing way.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Appendix A

Survey Questionnaire

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E