#live #living #welfare #wealth #comfort #happiness
“Standard of living refers to the level of wealth, comfort, material goods, and necessities available to a certain socioeconomic class or geographic area. Quality of life is a subjective term that can measure happiness”–Paul Ebeling
The standard of living implies the level of welfare provided to the residents of a country, i.e. it may refer to all those goods and services that people are able to consume and the resources they can access.
On the contrary, quality of life indicates the welfare and well being of a person or group.
The basic difference between the standard of living and quality of life lies in the individual preferences, i.e. the standard of living of people does not change as per the individual preferences, whereas the quality of life depends greatly on the individual preferences. These are 2 ways of understanding well being.
The Standard of Living of people of a country is reflected in the way in which people live, such as how much money they have to spend on, how their houses are constructed, how educated they are, what facilities are available to them, etc.
Standard of Living is a measure of comparison which is used to different countries, or regions, on the basis of metrics such as level of comfort, wealth, material possessions and basic necessities, which the residents have access to, in those geographic areas.
Real income per person and poverty rate are the 2 indicators that determine the standard of living. It analyses the quantity of material goods and services produced and sold in a particular region like a state or country.
So, to measure the standard of living components which can easily be quantified are taken into consideration like income, employment opportunities, poverty, cost of goods and services, life expectancy, infant mortality, rate of inflation, etc.
Here it must be noted that:
- High standard of living results in more demand for comfort and luxury products, whereas a low standard of living less demand for comfort and luxury products.
- It is based on both the quality and quantity of the available goods and services and how they are distributed among the population.
Quality of life can be defined as an individual’s outlook about his/her position in life with respect to the culture and value system, to which they belong and covers both positive and negative aspects of life.
- It is based on an individual’s life situations.
- It incorporates the physical and psychological health of a person along with their degree of independence, social associations and the way they relate to the surrounding.
- It can be measured by both objective and subjective indicators, however in general it is measured using descriptive measures for example satisfaction and happiness
Quality of Life is determined by the overall welfare within a particular society that focuses on providing an opportunity to accomplish the objectives. It covers a number of subjective, i.e. non-financial factors that can influence human lives such as satisfaction and happiness.
Bottom line
Standard of Living is regarded as important because it contributes to the quality of life of a person. Quality of life is all about how a person feels about their life, whereas the standard of living is all about comfort, material possessions, wealth and so on.
Have a happy weekend, Keep the Faith!
