Анотація:
This paper concerns life cycle related changes in subjective material living conditions, evaluated in terms of perceived past improvement or deterioration and expected future improvement and deterioration in different time horizons. The research refers to the tradition of consumer confidence surveys in order to study howthe positions occupied by individuals in the socio-economic structure influence the irperceptions of material living conditions, when the actual material conditions are kept controlled. It is concluded, that perceptions of the past and expectations for the future, determined by the life cycle, are influenced by location in particular segmentsof social structure, labour markets, and moreover, grossly differ between age cohorts.