... the minimum resources required for survival, which can be applied to all societies. Seebohm Rowntree first identified poverty in this sense in the United Kingdom, in his famous studies of poverty in York in 1901. Rowntree calculated the minimum weekly sum of money necessary to maintain subsistence and anyone living below this level was considered to be in poverty. In further studies, (1941 and 1951), Rowntree used a similar method to define poverty but his budget standards were based upon more relative definitions of poverty, that is, he included allowances for items other than those necessary for survival. (Haralambos, 2000:293) Another famous study of poverty carried out by Peter Townsend in Britain in the late 1970's also used a budget standard approach. However, in contrast with the earlier studies, Townsend emphasised that poverty should be measured in relative terms, that is, in relation to the standards expected in a given society ...

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