Anne Hartung

Malaise in the Western Middle Classes

The living conditions and well-being of the middle class are traditionally considered an expression of how society is progressing. Yet growing inequality and the polarization of incomes observed in Western countries due to globalization, the recession and rapid technological change, is leading to what has been described as a “malaise of the middle class”. This article presents the evolution of the income distribution in selected Western countries and discusses the possible impact of the threat created by downward mobility and the erosion of the middle class in todays society.

Dynamics of Income Rank Volatility: Evidence from Germany and the US

This paper presents a methodology for comparing income rank volatility profiles over time and across distributions. While most of the existing measures are affected by changes in marginal distributions, this paper proposes a framework that is based on individuals’ relative positions in the distribution, and is neutral in relation to structural changes that occur in the economy. Applying this approach to investigate rank volatility in Germany and the US over three decades, we show that while poorer individuals within both countries are the most volatile, the volatility trend for the middle class in each of these countries differs.

The Young and the Elderly at Risk: Individual outcomes and contemporary policy challenges in European societies

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Dedication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Preface by Wim van Oorschot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x