On the identification of the “middle class”

Anthony Atkinson and Andrea Brandolini ()

No 217, Working Papers from ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality

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.

Keywords: class structure; income distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D33 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2011
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lma and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (54)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2011-217

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