Cost of living

Japanese: 生計費 - せいけいひ（英語表記）cost of living

The cost of purchasing goods and services that a household needs to live its life. It is also called the cost of living. The cost of living is analyzed from the following three aspects. First, it is important in measuring the welfare of the nation because it is through this expenditure that households maintain and improve a healthy standard of living. Second, it is important in determining wage levels because it is mainly paid out of wages. Third, it is important in consumer demand because it is paid out of money.

The extent to which household expenditures should be specifically included in living expenses is a difficult question related to the above point, but it usually refers to disposable income minus savings.

The cost of living issue first appeared in literature in the early 17th century in England, where inflation forced the government to raise the legal maximum wage. Since D. Ricardo's "wage subsistence theory" in the 19th century, which held that wages should be limited to the minimum standard of living for workers, classical wage theory has been developed in relation to the cost of living for workers. Furthermore, E. Engels wrote "The Cost of Living of a Belgian Working Family" (1895), comparing surveys in Belgium in the 1850s and 1891, and made a significant contribution to elucidating the relationship between income levels and the cost of living through the so-called "Engel's Law." In the 20th century, surveys, analyses, and index creation of household finances, living expenses, wages, and consumer prices became widespread, and these began to develop in conjunction with demand analysis. In particular, R. G. D. Allen and L. Borley's "Household Expenditures" (1935) is considered a pioneering work.

[Tetsuya Hitosugi]

Actual cost of living/Theoretical cost of living

The cost of living can be divided into the actual cost of living that actual households spend, and the theoretical cost of living that is calculated as the minimum cost of living that should be physiologically, socially, and historically. In Japan, the actual cost of living is currently measured by the "Household Survey" and "National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure" conducted by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the "Consumer Trend Survey" conducted by the Cabinet Office (formerly the Economic Planning Agency), and the "Agricultural Management Statistics Survey" conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. Theoretical cost of living includes the "theoretical cost of living" that was once presented for workers by the General Council of Japanese Trade Unions (Sohyo), and the "standard cost of living" presented by the National Personnel Authority and the Personnel Commissions of local governments in conjunction with recommendations for salary revisions for public servants. The latter in particular uses a market basket method to indicate the cost of a healthy and cultural living each year, and can be said to be almost equivalent to the theoretical cost of living.

[Tetsuya Hitosugi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

家計がその生活を営むために必要とする財・サービスを購入する費用。生活費ともいう。生計費は次の三つの側面から分析される。第一に、家計はこの支出を通じて健全な生活水準を維持・向上させるものであるから、国民の福祉測定の面でそれは重要である。第二に、それは主として賃金から支出されるので、賃金水準決定の面で重要である。第三に、それは貨幣支出されるので、消費需要の面で重要である。

　家計の支出のうちで、どこまでを具体的に生計費に算入すべきかは前記の視点とも関連したむずかしい問題であるが、通常は可処分所得から貯蓄を引いたものをいう。

　生計費の問題が文献上に現れたのは、17世紀初めのイギリスで、インフレのため法定最高賃金を引き上げざるをえなくなったことと関連していた。19世紀に入ってD・リカードが、賃金は労働者の最低生活水準に抑えられるという「賃金生存費説」を唱えて以来、古典派の賃金論は労働者の生活費との関連で展開された。さらにE・エンゲルは、ベルギーにおける1850年代と1891年の調査とを比較して『ベルギー労働者家族の生活費』（1895）を著し、いわゆる「エンゲルの法則」によって、所得水準と生計費の関係の解明に大きな貢献をした。20世紀に入ると、家計、生活費、賃金、消費者物価の調査、分析および指数作成が広範囲に行われるようになり、それらは需要分析と結び付いて発展するようになった。とくにR・G・D・アレンとL・ボーリーの『家計支出』（1935）がその先駆的業績とされている。

［一杉哲也］

実態生計費・理論生計費

生計費は、現実の家計が支出した実態生計費と、生理学的、社会科学的および歴史的にあるべき最低生計費として算定された理論生計費とに分けられる。実態生計費については、わが国では現在、総務省統計局の「家計調査」「全国消費実態調査」、内閣府（旧経済企画庁）の「消費動向調査」、農林水産省の「農業経営統計調査」などがある。理論生計費については、日本労働組合総評議会（総評）がかつて労働者のために示した「理論生計費」、人事院および地方公共団体の人事委員会が公務員給与改定勧告に付随して示す「標準生計費」などがあげられるが、ことに後者はマーケット・バスケット方式で健康で文化的な生計費を毎年示すものとして、ほぼ理論生計費に該当するといえよう。

［一杉哲也］

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