standard of living

standard of living
noun
a level of material comfort in terms of goods and services available to someone or some group (Freq. 2)
-

they enjoyed the highest standard of living in the country

-

the lower the standard of living the easier it is to introduce an autocratic production system

• Syn: ↑standard of life
• Hypernyms: ↑degree, ↑level, ↑stage, ↑point

* * *

noun [singular]
: the amount of wealth, comfort, and possessions that a person or group has

People in that area enjoy a high standard of living. [=they have a lot of money and are able to live very comfortably]

raising/lowering/improving our standard of living

* * *

ˌstandard of ˈliving noun (pl. ˌstandards of ˈliving)
the amount of money and level of comfort that a particular person or group has
 
Culture:
standards of living [standard of living standards of living]
The British enjoy the high standard of living of an industrialized western country. Most British people tend not to judge quality of life by money alone though, and would point out benefits such as a stable political situation, freedom of speech and choice, and relatively little official interference in their lives.
Disposable income (= the amount of money people have to spend after paying taxes) is commonly used to measure the standard of living. This has risen steadily since the 1960s and has more than doubled since 1978. People with low wages or who are unemployed, and people who have retired, have less income and a lower standard of living. Although disposable income has been rising in the country as a whole, the gap between rich and poor grew wider towards the end of the last century after the tax burden on the richest people was reduced in the 1980s. The distribution of wealth as opposed to income is even more uneven. In 2001 the richest 1% owned about 25% of the wealth and the poorer half of the population owned only 5% of total wealth. Standards of living also vary from region to region. The wealthiest region is the ↑South-East. Figures published for 1999 show that, compared with an average of 15% of the population in the countries of the ↑European Union living in low-income households, the figure for Britain was 19%. By 2002 it was 17%.
In the 1920s people in the US began to believe in the ↑American dream, the idea that anyone who worked hard could have material goodsas a reward. Having such goods proves that a person is hard-working, so many people try to have everything their neighbours have, a practice called ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. As a result, America is often said to be a consumer society. The material standard of living is very high and the cost of living relatively low. Many Americans have large discretionary incomes (= money which they do not need for food and clothing and can spend as they choose) and can therefore buy many consumer goods but, as in Britain, there is a large and increasing gap between rich and poor as many people in low-paid jobs have not benefited from the general increases in income. In
2003. 12.5% of the population were living below the poverty line, the highest figure since 1998.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • standard of living — ˌstandard of ˈliving noun standards of living PLURALFORM [countable usually singular] ECONOMICS the amount of wealth or comfort that a person, group, or country has: • Two incomes are generally required to maintain a decent middle class standard… …   Financial and business terms

  • standard of living — n [C usually singular] the amount of wealth, comfort, and other things that a particular person, group, country etc has = ↑living standard high/low standard of living ▪ a nation with a high standard of living …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • standard of living — noun singular the type of life that a person or society has according to the amount of money they have: a high/low standard of living: Japan has a very high standard of living …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • standard of living — ► NOUN ▪ the degree of material comfort available to a person or community …   English terms dictionary

  • standard of living — n. a level of subsistence, as of a nation, social class, or person, with reference to the adequacy of necessities and comforts in daily life …   English World dictionary

  • standard of living — a grade or level of subsistence and comfort in everyday life enjoyed by a community, class, or individual: The well educated generally have a high standard of living. Also called living standard. [1900 05] * * * Level of material comfort that an… …   Universalium

  • Standard of living — The standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people, and the way these goods and services are distributed within a population. It is generally measured by standards such as income inequality,… …   Wikipedia

  • Standard Of Living — The level of wealth, comfort, material goods and necessities available to a certain socioeconomic class in a certain geographic area. The standard of living includes factors such as income, quality and availability of employment, class disparity …   Investment dictionary

  • standard of living — n. 1) to raise the standard of living 2) a high; low standard of living 3) a standard of living falls, goes down; goes up, rises * * * goes down goes up low standard of living rises a high a standard of living falls to raise the standard of… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • standard of living —    Although there is no single agreed measure for comparing living standards across different countries, there can be no doubt that in absolute terms the standard of living of the average Spaniard has improved beyond recognition in the past… …   Encyclopedia of contemporary Spanish culture

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”