The Myth of the Middle Class Squeeze: Employment and Income by Class in Six Western Countries, 1980–2020
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Version: Final published version
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Secondary document(s)
Download: Appendix_CPS_Supplementary_Material.pdf (657.59 [Ko])
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Serval ID
serval:BIB_F5EF4900C3B5
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
The Myth of the Middle Class Squeeze: Employment and Income by Class in Six Western Countries, 1980–2020
Journal
Comparative Political Studies
ISSN
0010-4140
1552-3829
1552-3829
Publication state
Published
Issued date
08/08/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Pages
1-34
Language
english
Abstract
The public debate portrays the middle class as the big losers in recent decades, while people above and below seemingly fared better in terms of employment and income growth. This narrative is both conceptually and empirically flawed. Based on the Luxembourg Income Study 1980–2020, we show for France, Germany, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the US that middle-class employment expanded, while the working class shrank. The middle class also experienced consistently larger income gains than the working class over the past four decades. The disposable real incomes of working-class households in France, Germany or the US grew by less than half a percent per year, compared to 1% or more for the middle class. Cohort analysis also shows that the promise of doing better than one’s parents held for the middle class, but vanished for the working class.
Funding(s)
Swiss National Science Foundation / 204489
Swiss National Science Foundation / P500PS_217748
Create date
12/08/2024 14:43
Last modification date
13/08/2024 8:01