Can Standards of Living Be Rated from Observation

In order to obtain what might be a usable scheme for determining the actual prevailing standards of living for farm families, a study was made of 900 farm families in Wisconsin. Information was obtained on the receipts from all sources and the expenditures for all purposes for all purposes for one year by each family, and families were rated in five classes, from A to E, on the basis of general impressions on the appearance of the farmstead, interior of the house, and personality of the homemaker. Although average tocal cost of living declines quite regularly from the A to the E group, the decline is not distributed regularly among the different kinds of goods and services. The average cost of food decreases only slightly and very irregularly; clothing drops markedly and regularly to the D rating only; house rent and expenditures for "all other" purposes fall markedly an dregularly; average cost of purchased goods and services declines more pronouncedly than cost of the furnished

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• The Construction and Standardization of a Scale for the Measurement of the Socio-Economic Status of Oklahoma Farm Families

  Howard R Cottam, William H Sewell•American Sociological Review•1940

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