Living Standard, Living Level and Economic Wellbeing of Older Persons: Similarity and Differences in Measuring These Concepts/Standard de Vie, Niveau de Vie Et Bien-Etre Economique des Personnes Agees: Similitudes Et Differences Dans la Mesure de CES Concepts (Report‪)‬

1. LIVING STANDARD, LIVING LEVEL AND ITS MEASUREMENT Living standard is a combination of wealth and services desired with a set of habitual evaluation towards their wealth and services. It refers to the sum of all satisfaction considered essential to living. The term, living standard is commonly used in speaking of economic achievement and goals in the public interest. In this connection, it usually refers to the quantities and qualities of goods available and its main purpose is to satisfy "wants" rather than "needs". According to Fitzisimmons & Williams (1973) living standard usually changes slowly and it is based upon the goals, attitudes, and satisfaction already experienced. Since everyone have a different wants across their life-span development, standard of living can be expected to vary in some respects from individual to individual, locality to locality. Looking into the macroeconomic aspects of measurement on living standard, GDP per capita is a commonly used measure of the living standard but not necessarily an accurate one because, among other reasons, it does not distinguish between consumer and capital goods where it does not take account of differences in the economic goods and services that are not measured in GDP. It means that GDP is subject to the vagaries of translating income measures into a common currency but it fails to take into account differences of tastes among nations. If we look into a smaller context, that we like to measure the standard of an elderly, perceived income adequacy in old age and their life satisfaction level should be proper indicators than the others. For example, a poor elderly with no regular income and assets, staying with his family but his family members cover his expenses. For this case, the elderly is poor in level of living but not standard of living.