The Myth of the Middle Class Squeeze: Employment and Income by Class in Six Western Countries, 1980-2020
Jad Moawad, (University of Lausanne), Daniel Oesch ,(University of Lausanne)
Since the 1980s, growth in median incomes has slowed down across the Western world, stagnating over long periods in Germany, France or the US. In the public debate, income stagnation has been linked with middle class squeeze. This article challenges the thesis of a middle class squeeze and argues instead that the great loser of the last four decades has been the working class. The authors trace the evolution of employment and income by social class in six large Western countries – France, Germany, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Full article is available here.