2134/26704 Abigail Davis Abigail Davis Donald Hirsch Donald Hirsch Matt Padley Matt Padley The minimum income standard as a benchmark of a 'participatory social minimum' Loughborough University 2017 untagged Language, Communication and Culture not elsewhere classified Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified 2017-09-28 08:44:25 Journal contribution https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/The_minimum_income_standard_as_a_benchmark_of_a_participatory_social_minimum_/9474227 The Minimum Income Standard (MIS), a method for constructing minimum household budgets based on public consensus, helps to operationalise Townsend's concept of a 'participatory social minimum'. Since 2008 MIS has tracked changes in the contents and cost of minimum baskets of goods and services. The article reflects on aspects of this research: the living standard that MIS represents, how consensus is reached and its record of providing consistent results over time. Understanding these features allows policy makers, practitioners and analysts to use the results of MIS appropriately, alongside other research, to benchmark the success of measures to promote adequate incomes.