On the Identification of the Middle Class

Abstract

The paper examines the identification of the "middle class" using data from LIS and LWS. It first considers definitions based purely on income, examining the rationale for different approaches and illustrating the implications for changes over time. It argues that the concept of "class" requires the examination of other dimensions beyond income. The paper considers the role of property and, drawing on the sociological literature, of occupations.

Determinants of governmental redistribution: Income distribution, development levels, and the role of perceptions

“…Since there is little difference in the results when comparing MIDDLECLASS and QUINT 3 , we subsequently apply the broader definition MIDDLECLASS, commonly used in other studies (e.g. Brandolini, 2011 andGrabka andFrick, 2008).…”

Economic Stress and the Great Recession in Ireland: Polarization, Individualization or ‘Middle Class Squeeze’?

“…The economics literature is said to be "converging" (Ravallion 2010, 446) on the definition of the income limits for the middle income group as 75 percent and 125 percent of the median. Atkinson and Brandolini (2013) note that we may either accept "the premise that middle-class living standards begin when poverty ends," as Ravallion (2010,446) states, or take instead a more conservative approach and fix a level so as "to ensure that the lower endpoint of the middle class represents an income significantly above the poverty level," as suggested by Horrigan and Haugen (1988:5). Atkinson and Brandolini ( 2013) note that in the EU, the former criterion would bring us to identify the lower bound with the at-risk-of-poverty line, set at 60 percent of the median.…”

“…As Atkinson and Brandolini (2013) have shown, while social stratification by the class categories of the Goldthorpe schema and clustering by income are clearly correlated the match is far from perfect. They note that, while both variables can contribute to identifying patterns of social stratification, their conceptual primacy varies across disciplines.…”

Staat de middenklasse onder druk?

“…1 De middeninkomens worden ook wel afgebakend als de middelste 60 procent van de inkomensverdeling, zodat de onderste 20 procent als lage inkomens wordt aangemerkt en de hoogste 20 procent als de hoge inkomens (zie bijvoorbeeld Atkinson & Brandolini, 2013). Omdat in de twee hiernavolgende afbakeningen -opleidingen en beroepen -de middenklasse 40 tot 50 procent van de bevolking omvat, geef ik hier de voorkeur aan een bij benadering even grote groep.…”