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An Economic Definition of the Middle Class

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  • Joseph Eisenhauer

Abstract

The concept of a middle class is prevalent in both common parlance and the social sciences; concern is frequently expressed that the middle class is shrinking, and politicians often position themselves as champions of the middle class. Yet the phrase “middle class” is extremely ambiguous; no consensus exists on either the upper bound or the lower bound separating the middle class from other classes. The present paper employs the government’s official poverty line as the demarcation between the poor and the middle class, and develops an equivalent distinction to separate the middle class from the wealthy. Based on the new definition, the paper provides some rough empirical estimates of the size of the American middle class over the 1989--2004 period.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Eisenhauer, 2008. "An Economic Definition of the Middle Class," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 103-113, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:fosoec:v:37:y:2008:i:2:p:103-113
    DOI: 10.1007/s12143-007-9009-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhu, Yu & Friend, Irwin, 1986. "The Effects of Different Taxes on Risky and Risk-free Investment and on the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 41(1), pages 53-66, March.
    2. Richard Burkhauser, 1996. "Income Mobility and the Middle Class," Books, American Enterprise Institute, number 650825, September.
    3. Thorstein Veblen, 1899. "Mr. Cummings's Strictures on "The Theory of the Leisure Class"," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(1), pages 106-106.
    4. Veblen, Thorstein, 1899. "The Theory of the Leisure Class," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number veblen1899.
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    Cited by:

    1. Beach, Charles M., 2014. "What Has Happened to Middle-Class Earnings? Distributional Shifts in Earnings in Canada, 1970-2005," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2014-13, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 26 Mar 2014.
    2. Eisenhauer, Joseph G., 2011. "The rich, the poor, and the middle class: Thresholds and intensity indices," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 294-304, December.
    3. Anthony B. Atkinson & Andrea Brandolini, 2011. "On the identification of the “middle class”," Working Papers 217, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    4. Marcella Corsi & Carlo D'Ippoliti, 2013. "Class and gender in Europe, before and during the economic crisis," Working Papers CEB 13-027, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Durr-e-Nayab, 2011. "Estimating the Middle Class in Pakistan," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 50(1), pages 1-28.

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