The Norwegian reference budget

Abstract

This chapter discusses the expert-led and methodological approach to Norwegian reference budgets. It describes how experts deliberate across various consumption areas in order to identify the items to be included in the “acceptable” budget for Norway. It analyzes the experts' definition of quantity, quality, assumed durability, and the price of household goods and services. The chapter points out how a reference budget is constructed in a more generic form, resembling more of an individual household budget that can then be adjusted for different household types and economies of scale. It notes the conceptual confusions that caused some organisations to refer to the reference budgets as “minimum” budgets rather than budgets reflecting an “acceptable” living standard.