Living Standards Measure

The Living Standards Measure or LSM is a marketing and research tool ( same as social economic class: SEC but more refined ) 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)

References

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

External links

LSM Calculator

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[1] "Living Standards Measure". 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. Retrieved 20 December 2016.

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