Adequate income in Portugal: a comparison of two estimation methods

This chapter examines the adequate income in Portugal by comparing “Improving Poverty Reduction in Europe” (ImPRovE) and Minimum Income Standards (MIS). It discusses how the MIS approach places great emphasis on the results of the focus group discussions for establishing a consensual income standard for society, while the ImPRovE method puts experts in the driving seat and focus groups are largely confirmatory. It also provides a comparison of MIS and ImPRovE's food budget results. The chapter looks into the cost of the food basket for both a man and a woman, and a couple, that is found to be higher when using the ImPRovE methodology compared to MIS approach. It covers findings that highlight some of the main differences of MIS and ImPRovE in terms of food basket composition or quantities of different groups of food.