First comprehensive review of the market basket measure of low income

The intention at the time of the creation of the MBM was that the content of the basket and its definition of disposable income would be reviewed once several years of data had been collected using the original measure. [...] The Purpose of the Review The purpose of the review is to ensure that the MBM, to the extent feasible, meets the following three criteria: First Comprehensive Review of the Market Basket Measure of Low Income 1 1) that the MBM “basket” continues to embody a modest basic standard of living in the Canadian context of 2010; 2) that the cost of purchasing this standard of living in specific geographic [...] Types of Changes Considered Four types of changes were considered to the measure – 1) changes in the content of the components of the basket (food, clothing and footwear, shelter, transportation and other necessary goods and services); 2) changes in the calculation of the cost of the components of the basket; 3) changes in the calculation of the disposable income available to purchase the goods an [...] First Comprehensive Review of the Market Basket Measure of Low Income 5 • the MBM is a measure of low income based on a basket of goods and services embodying a modest, basic standard of living between subsistence and social inclusion; • the definition of disposable income used with the MBM should reflect the resources available to purchase the goods and services in the MBM basket; • the purpose o [...] This ratio is then multiplied by the combined costs of the food and clothing and footwear components of the basket in each of the 49 geographical regions to determine the cost of the “Other” component in that region.