THE FARMER'S STANDARD OF LIVING 9 
The per capita unit fails to take account of the variations in indi- 
vidual demands due to sex and age requirements. The adult-equiva- 
lent unit, which counts two children as equal in their requirements 
to one adult, ignores sex and accurate age requirements. This 
discrepancy has sometimes been partially removed through use of 
the adult-male-equivalent unit, which divides the children among 
several arbitral^ age groups and apportions the allowance for each 
group in accordance with age. 
The ammain unit or scale derived from the term "adult male 
maintenance" bases the total expenditure for all goods used by the 
separate members composing the family against the total cost of 
goods used by the male at the minimum of consumption, 23 to 2G 
years of age. The relative demands rated against the money value 
of all economic goods consumed by the male at this age — taken as 
unity or 1 — are varied from 0.22 at the first year of age up to 1 at 
the twenty-third to twenty-sixth year of age and down to 0.74 at the 
eightieth year of age, for males ; and from 0.22 at the first year of age 
up to 0.T9 at the twenty-first to twenty-ninth year of age and down 
to 0.62 at the eightieth year of age for females. The ammain scale 
takes account of the variations in demands due to sex and age, but it 
makes no allowances for the different relative demands made by the 
third or fourth or other additional member of the family on any one 
of the principal groups of goods used. 
The cost-consumption unit scale 3 attempts to account for this 
variation, in addition to all other variations, due to different number, 
sex, and ages of persons composing the family. The requirements of 
the adult male are taken as a unit for a given group of needs, and 
the scale which is set up measures the needs of individuals of differert 
sex and age groups 4 in terms of this unit. The unit is termed a 
"cost-consumption unit." The number of units which represent the 
needs of a household in respect to food, clothing, or other goods is 
called the "household-size index" for that item; and the total ex- 
penditure for that item, divided by its household-size index, gives the 
" cost per cost-consumption unit," the figure by means of which differ- 
ent households may be compared with regard to any group of goods. 
Careful consideration has been given to all the above unite as bases 
of comparing the costs of living among families of different tenures, 
States, and regions of this study. The cost-consumption unit was 
tested as thoroughly as. possible in the analysis of approximately 
900 combined farm-business and family-living schedules for the rela- 
tion of ability of the farmer to pay to the standard of living. 5 For 
general comparison of the standard of living of families of different 
groups the sum of costs per consumption unit, obtained by dividing 
the total cost of the different groups of goods per family by the 
household-size indexes, appeared to be not strikingly more effective 
than the total value of goods used per family. This may have been 
due in part, however, to the small number of records available for 
analysis. 
3 FAMILY LIVING IX FARM HOMES, Dept. Bui. No. 1214. 1924. 
4 The age groupings for both sons and daughters are 5 years or less, 6 to 11 years. 12 
to 14 years, 15 to 18 years, and 19 years or over. Toints of division between the years 
are arbitrary and might be placed between other years. 
5 THE RELATION BETWEEN THE ABILITY TO PAY AND THE STANDARD OF LIVING AMONG 
farmers. Dept. Bul. No. 1382. 1925, 
13102°— 26 2 
