Research on household income frequently assumes that resources are shared equally within households and all individuals within households have similar standards of living. This study questions such assumptions by examining how resources are distributed within households and by measuring differences in living standards between individuals in the same household. The study addresses three key issues:
The report has implications for both policy and how data on poverty is collected. The findings of this research swill be of interest to a wide range of readers, including those interested in family and child poverty, the structure of the social welfare system and the types and levels of public services provided in Ireland.
- The allocation of resources within households
- The extent of poverty amongst women and children within both poor and non-poor households
- The use of non-monetary indicators in developing our understanding of poverty and social exclusion.