The urban poverty datum line in Rhodesia: a study of the minimum consumption needs of families (1974)

Those familiar with the original 1974 publication will find little change in the assumptions and structure of this PDL re-costing exercise. While the author is well aware of altered circumstances and life-styles and changes in the availability or non-availability of certain PDL basics, every attempt has been made to follow the 1974 PDL model. In some cases it has been necessary to alter the detail of the costing to account for unavoidable changes, but these have been carefully noted in the text of Chapters 2 to 4. It is emphasized that the following report is a re-costing only, and not an updating or revision exercise, as would be desirable, to account for a changed social and economic situation. For the meantime, this re-costing exercise is offered and presented in summary form. Chapter 1 deals with a brief review of the concept of the PDL study, its basic assumptions and area of concern. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 deal with costing of PDL items in Salisbury, Bulawayo and Fort Victoria respectively. The main tables are included with a brief discussion of the PDL items and any alterations that have had to be made. In Chapter 5 the final PDL figures for the 12 family units in the three centres are compared with the Consumer Price Index for low income groups over the same period of time.

A study of the minimum consumption needs of families in the then Rhodesia in 1974 in order to determine the Poverty Datum Line (PDL).