Sharing Household Resources: Learning from Non-Monetary Indicators

The methodology used in this study adapts the non-monetary indicators of deprivation approach to measure differences between household members. In the 1999 ESRI Living in Ireland Survey, 1,100 couples were asked about their consumption and deprivation levels, access to leisure activities and pastimes and about decision making and money management. The results were then analysed to examine any potential differences between spouses and partners. In addition,
just over 800 mothers with children (defined as under 14) were asked whether their children had to go without a range of items because of a lack of money. These results were then compared with household characteristics to identify the households in which children are most at risk of poverty.