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The Formation of the Middle Class as a Way to Overcome Economic Inequality (Analyzing the International Experience)

Author

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  • Akaev, Askar

    (Saint Petersburg State University)

  • Sarygulov, Askar

    (Saint Petersburg State University)

  • Sokolov, Valentin

    (Saint Petersburg State University)

Abstract

The processes of economic development in both developed and developing countries over the last decade have been uneven. There are many reasons for this uneven development, but one of the core is a structural imbalance. Disparities in the sectoral development and structure of employment cause extremely painful impact on the rates of economic development, and as a consequence, the social status of different population groups. Most vividly all this is reflected in the processes of distribution and redistribution of income, since the processes of social, financial and economic inequality with a cumulative nature, can cause profound processes of turbulent nature. In this context, the important role of the middle class as a stabilizing element of social development is shown. This paper, basing on extensive statistical material, as well as publications in international journals, examines the economic definition of the boundaries of the middle class, the mechanisms of leveling the economic inequality based on income redistribution and the various tax systems, directly or indirectly influence the development of the middle class in developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Akaev, Askar & Sarygulov, Askar & Sokolov, Valentin, 2012. "The Formation of the Middle Class as a Way to Overcome Economic Inequality (Analyzing the International Experience)," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, pages 102-117, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:rnp:ecopol:ep1250
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jenkins, Stephen P., 1995. "Did the middle class shrink during the 1980s? UK evidence from kernel density estimates," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 407-413, October.
    2. Markus M. Grabka & Joachim R. Frick, 2008. "The Shrinking German Middle Class: Signs of Long-Term Polarization in Disposable Income?," Weekly Report, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 4(4), pages 21-27.
    3. Nancy Birdsall, 2010. "The (Indispensable) Middle Class in Developing Countries; or, The Rich and the Rest, Not the Poor and the Rest," Working Papers 207, Center for Global Development.
    4. Homi Kharas, 2010. "The Emerging Middle Class in Developing Countries," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 285, OECD Publishing.
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