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Comments on Adina Mihäilescu, The Minimum Cost of Living, an Instrument in Social Policy, Romanian Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 2014, 107 p.
Abstract: The aim of the article is to discuss poverty estimates based on the minimum income that different household types would need to acquire the minimum consumption basket. The article reviews Adina Mihäilescu 's book presenting her main results: the minimum wage and the minimum pension are not set high enough to lift people out of poverty, the unemployment benefit and the minimum income guaranteed do not cover the basic costs of living, having more children increases the risk of poverty, since children 's allowance does not offset the cost.
Keywords: absolute poverty; minimum consumption basket; cost of living; unemployment benefit.
Cuvinte-cheie: säräcie absoluta; coçul minim de consum; costul vielii; ajutor de çomaj.
Poor people are those "individuals, households and groups whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so reduced that they are excluded from a level of living considered minimum acceptable in the countries where they live" (European Union). By this definition 41.8% of the population in Romania was at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2014, and Romania ranked second in the European Union (Eurostat main indicators). Therefore, the definition of poverty is influenced by the level of development in society and what is considered minimum acceptable in that society. Another definition of poverty is: "poor people are those households whose income cannot ensure them the minimum accepted standards of basic needs of living, e.g. the minim consumption basket" (USA Government). At the heart of this definition is being aware that it is possible to work full-time and still be poor and have difficulty making ends meet1. Several indicators have been proposed and used by policy makers to identify and measure the extent of poverty. There are several ways to measure the extent of poverty: a) relative measures based on income vs. absolute poverty based on expenditure measurement, b)one dimension or multidimensional measurement of poverty, which includes access to heating, road infrastructure, health care and education services, and c) one snapshot cross-sectional measurement vs. long term panel data measurement that captures the dynamics of poverty, identifying the chronically poor groups at risk of poverty on long term.
These methods usually...