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How has the middle fared in the netherlands? A tale of stagnation and population shifts

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  • Salverda, Wiemer
  • Thewissen, Stefan

Abstract

How have ordinary households fared economically in the Netherlands between 1977 and 2014? Combining tax records with labour force survey information, we show that household incomes have lagged well behind the strong GDP performance, underpinned by an active emphasis on wage moderation to boost exports. Even though incomes have been stagnant across the distribution, there have been important compositional changes. Pensioners have increased in numbers and relative income, and are now a core group of the middle. Wage earners have moved to the upper half of the income distribution, partly due to a strong expansion of the number and average incomes of (part-time) second earners. We pay particular attention to the Great Recession, where we note worrying trends in the employment of younger workers (ages 18 to 45) and the precariousness of jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • Salverda, Wiemer & Thewissen, Stefan, 2017. "How has the middle fared in the netherlands? A tale of stagnation and population shifts," INET Oxford Working Papers 2017-14, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:amz:wpaper:2017-14
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; household incomes; economic growth; tax data; The Netherlands;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts

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