Activity: Talk or presentation › Science to science
Description
This paper examines how the middle class has fared in 26 European countries between 2004 and 2014 based on European Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data. We define individuals living in households with a median equivalised disposable household income between 75% and 125% to be middle class. We find that the middle class has decreased in 18 out of 26 countries, which is accompanied by an increase of in-come polarization. Redistributive policies are most influential for explaining differences in the size of the middle class across European countries. Exploring potential explanations for this gap, we examine country groups with similar socio-economic policies and institutions