The effects of redistribution become much more muted once pensions are taken out of transfers and treated as factor income. The negative sign between the poor’s share in factor income and sharegain persists, and the coefficient remains statistically highly significant throughout, but is much smaller. It is about ½ of the previous size: between 0.3-0.4 rather than 0.6-0.7.
Unlike the evidence on the link between the extent of pro-poor redistribution, and factor income inequality, the evidence that redistribution takes place through the median voter channel is much weaker. Our data—
based on cash transfers—do not allow us to determine that the middle class is a net beneficiary of redistribution. Moreover, comparing cash transfers and taxes only, the middle income groups appear always to be losers. However, it is likely that, if one included transfers in kind, the middle classes may turn out to be net beneficiaries. Testing a weaker formulation of the median voter hypothesis—namely that lower factor income share of the middle class is associated with their greater sharegain—we find that it holds so long as pensions are included among cash transfers. Once we exclude them, there is no evidence that the middle classes that start from a less favorable factor income position do redistribute more in their own favor.
The median voter hypothesis fails once we focus on the truly redistributive transfers from which the middle classes contemporaneously gain little. This leaves us with three possible explanations. First, since those poorer than the middle classes contemporaneously gain, is the decisive voter at a level income lower than the median? This looks implausible since the recent work, if anything, has moved in the direction of finding the decisive voter at a level higher than the median (see Bassett, Burkett and Putterman, 1999).
Second, lack of contemporaneous middle-class gain may mask a long-run middle-class gain from redistributive programs. Those currently in the middle class will not profit from current unemployment transfers. But they may be willing to finance them because they expect to receive them if they lose their jobs.
Third, a totally different political mechanism to explain redistribution may have to be defined.
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“Income Distribution, Government Transfers, and the Problem of Unequal Influence”, European Journal of Political Economy, vol. 15, pp. 207-228.
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1184-1198.
Easterly, William and Sergio Rebelo (1993), “Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth: an Empirical Investigation”, Journal of Monetary Economics, vol. 32, No. 3, December, pp. 417-458.
Esping-Andersen, Gosta (1990), The three worlds of welfare capitalism, Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press.
Le Grand, Julian (1982), The Strategy of Equality: Redistribution and the Social Services, London: Allen and Unwin.
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Working paper series, No. 3599, January.
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600-621.
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Annex Table 1. Gini coefficients
Factor income
Factor P income
Gross income
Disposable income
(4)-(1)
Australia 81 46.0 41.9 37.7 33.4 -12.6
85 47.7 43.4 39.3 34.3 -13.4
89 48.5 45.1 39.7 35.0 -13.5
94 51.6 48.1 41.0 36.6 -15.1
Belgium 85 54.6 34.0 26.7 26.7 -27.8
88 50.0 34.4 26.9 26.9 -23.1
92 50.4 38.0 31.8 26.0 -24.4
Canada 75 43.8 40.8 37.2 34.8 -9.0
81 42.9 39.8 36.5 33.9 -9.1
87 44.2 40.4 36.6 33.3 -10.8
91 45.5 41.5 36.4 32.6 -12.9
94 47.0 42.2 36.9 32.9 -14.1
Czech Republic 92 43.7 30.0 24.0 21.7 -22.0
Denmark 87 44.3 38.0 30.7 27.8 -16.5
92 47.2 40.3 30.5 26.0 -21.2
Finland 87 36.4 32.5 28.5 23.3 -13.1
91 36.6 33.5 28.5 23.9 -12.7
95 42.1 39.2 30.2 25.5 -16.6
France 79 50.9 42.8 38.1 34.6 -16.3
81 40.5 39.3 32.7 -7.8
84 52.2 42.8 37.9 34.4 -17.8
France (b) 89 52.8 42.1 35.9 34.2 -18.6
W. Germany 73 40.3 40.2 32.5 31.1 -9.3
78 43.2 33.9 32.1 29.8 -13.4
81 44.1 34.8 31.4 29.4 -14.7
83 42.7 34.2 31.7 29.5 -13.2
84 47.9 35.5 33.1 29.3 -18.6
89 47.2 35.7 33.8 29.1 -18.0
94 50.4 39.4 35.9 31.2 -19.3
Hungary 91 52.0 39.2 30.3 30.3 -21.7
Ireland 87 55.6 53.2 41.7 37.7 -17.9
Israel 79 47.5 45.0 41.9 37.7 -9.9
86 50.7 47.7 43.2 37.8 -12.9
92 49.4 46.8 41.4 36.8 -12.6
Italy 86 46.1 34.0 33.7 -12.4
91 44.9 33.7 32.4 32.4 -12.5
95 51.3 39.8 37.6 37.6 -13.7
Luxembourg 85 41.7 32.6 27.9 -13.8
91 41.9 32.2 28.3 28.3 -13.6
94 44.0 33.1 28.0 28.0 -16.0
Netherlands 83 50.5 44.7 36.8 34.0 -16.6
87 49.7 44.3 35.6 32.7 -17.0
91 46.9 41.4 34.1 32.9 -13.9
94 45.0 40.0 34.0 33.8 -11.2
Norway 79 43.2 43.2 32.6 28.5 -14.7
86 39.5 39.5 29.0 25.5 -14.0
91 41.6 34.4 30.0 26.1 -15.5
95 44.3 36.5 30.5 26.7 -17.5
Poland 86 39.9 33.5 29.1 -10.8
92 45.9 36.3 33.8 33.8 -12.1
95 60.6 50.9 38.7 38.8 -21.7
ROC Taiwan 81 31.6 31.6 31.5 31.1 -0.5
86 31.4 31.4 31.3 30.8 -0.6
91 31.9 31.8 31.6 31.0 -0.9
95 32.9 32.1 31.4 31.0 -2.0
Russia 92 56.0 47.2 45.4 45.2 -10.8
95 62.0 50.0 48.8 48.8 -13.2
Slovak Republic 92 43.0 32.0 23.0 20.9 -22.1
Spain 80 45.9 45.9 35.7 35.7 -10.2
90 46.0 37.4 33.7 33.7 -12.4
Sweden 67 47.9 42.5 40.3 35.4 -12.4
75 45.6 35.6 31.1 25.5 -20.1
81 46.3 33.7 28.2 24.2 -22.0
87 47.5 34.1 29.2 25.5 -22.0
92 51.3 38.2 29.5 26.4 -24.9
95 50.4 40.5 29.9 26.2 -24.2
Switzerland 82 44.8 40.1 39.2 37.7 -7.1
U.K. 69 43.8 40.0 37.6 34.9 -8.9
74 39.3 34.9 33.8 31.1 -8.2
79 44.6 38.5 33.0 30.1 -14.5
86 52.6 46.6 37.5 34.3 -18.3
91 52.5 47.6 40.4 37.5 -15.0
95 54.7 50.0 41.2 38.1 -16.6
U.S.A. 74 46.8 42.7 41.1 37.8 -9.0
79 46.4 43.4 40.7 36.4 -9.9
86 48.7 45.0 43.1 39.2 -9.5
91 49.7 45.8 43.4 39.5 -10.2
94 52.4 48.3 45.9 41.7 -10.7
97 52.6 48.4 46.4 42.2 -10.3
Mean 46.4 39.8 35.0 32.2 -14.2
St. Deviation 5.9 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.5
Note: Gini coefficients calculated on per capita basis.
Annex Table 2
GAIN IN SHARES (in percent;
using factor income)
Countries, years first Second third Fourth fifth Five deciles (cumul)
Australia 81 4.5 3.1 1.0 0.4 0.1 9.0
85 4.2 3.3 1.2 0.6 0.2 9.4
89 4.2 3.5 1.3 0.5 0.2 9.6
94 4.0 4.2 2.0 0.7 0.2 11.1
Belgium 85 8.8 9.0 8.7 1.5 -0.8 27.3
88 8.6 8.5 3.7 2.3 -0.3 22.9
92 8.9 4.8 4.4 1.2 0.1 19.5
Canada 75 3.3 1.7 1.0 0.5 0.2 6.7
81 3.5 1.7 1.0 0.5 0.2 6.8
87 4.1 2.2 1.3 0.7 0.2 8.4
91 4.4 2.7 1.7 0.9 0.3 10.0
94 4.8 3.0 1.9 1.0 0.4 11.1
Czech Republic 92 9.2 5.4 2.0 0.7 -0.2 17.2
Denmark 87 8.0 5.7 2.9 0.8 -0.4 17.1
92 6.6 6.0 3.3 1.5 0.1 17.5
Finland 87 4.4 2.6 1.6 0.9 0.4 9.9
91 4.1 2.5 1.6 1.0 0.4 9.6
95 5.1 3.4 2.2 1.5 0.8 12.9
France 79 8.5 4.1 1.5 0.8 0.3 15.2
81 3.3 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.2 6.0
84 8.0 5.7 2.1 1.0 0.4 17.3
France (b) 89 7.8 7.2 2.9 1.3 0.2 19.4
W. Germany 73 6.0 2.8 0.2 -0.2 -0.4 8.4
78 6.2 4.7 1.0 0.1 -0.3 11.8
81 8.7 4.4 1.3 0.6 -0.4 14.6
83 6.0 4.5 1.3 0.3 -0.2 11.8
84 8.0 8.9 1.6 0.0 -0.4 18.1
89 7.7 6.6 1.8 0.2 -0.3 16.0
94 7.9 6.4 2.7 0.9 0.0 17.9
Hungary 91 7.0 5.3 3.0 1.8 0.7 17.8
Ireland 87 4.9 4.8 3.0 1.3 0.4 14.3
Israel 79 3.6 1.7 1.1 1.0 0.8 8.1
86 4.2 1.8 1.5 1.4 0.8 9.6
92 4.2 2.0 1.5 1.1 0.8 9.7
Italy 86 7.5 5.7 0.6 -0.3 -0.4 13.1
91 6.5 6.2 0.7 0.0 -0.3 13.0
95 6.4 6.4 2.1 0.2 -0.5 14.5
Luxembourg 85 9.7 3.8 0.7 0.2 -0.5 13.8
91 8.6 4.7 0.6 0.3 -0.5 13.6
94 8.8 5.4 1.0 0.6 -0.3 15.5
Netherlands 83 5.7 6.9 3.7 0.5 -0.3 16.4
87 7.1 6.8 2.6 0.7 -0.1 17.1
91 5.1 5.2 1.9 0.3 0.0 12.5
94 6.1 4.6 1.3 -0.2 -0.9 10.9
Norway 79 7.0 4.5 1.3 0.2 -0.3 12.7
86 6.5 3.7 1.0 0.2 -0.1 11.3
91 6.0 3.9 1.8 0.7 0.2 12.6
95 5.8 4.9 2.5 1.0 0.0 14.3
Poland 86 7.9 2.0 0.2 -0.2 -0.5 9.3
92 7.6 3.5 1.3 0.3 -0.2 12.5
95 9.9 7.2 3.8 1.9 0.7 23.5
ROC Taiwan 81 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.3
86 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4
91 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6
95 0.7 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.4
Russia 92 4.3 2.1 0.9 0.6 0.3 8.3
95 4.7 2.5 1.9 1.1 0.7 11.0
Slovak Republic 92 9.9 4.1 2.3 1.2 0.3 17.9
Spain 80 7.8 1.9 0.5 -0.1 -0.5 9.6
90 7.8 3.6 1.2 0.2 -0.4 12.4
Sweden 67 2.9 4.7 1.8 0.9 0.5 10.9
75 7.2 5.9 2.4 0.9 0.2 16.6
81 8.3 7.4 4.2 1.2 0.0 21.2
87 8.4 7.1 3.6 1.3 0.0 20.4
92 7.5 6.9 5.1 2.4 0.6 22.5
95 7.4 6.1 4.7 2.8 0.8 21.7
Switzerland 82 3.7 1.5 0.6 -0.1 0.0 5.7
U.K. 69 4.5 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.1 6.7
74 3.8 1.6 0.7 0.2 0.0 6.3
79 5.3 4.0 1.4 0.5 0.0 11.2
86 5.2 5.1 3.4 1.3 0.3 15.3
91 4.2 4.0 2.3 1.0 0.2 11.8
95 4.5 4.3 3.1 1.5 0.4 13.7
U.S.A. 74 3.4 2.0 0.9 0.5 0.2 7.1
79 3.3 2.1 1.4 0.8 0.6 8.1
86 3.1 1.9 1.3 0.9 0.4 7.6
91 3.2 2.2 1.5 1.0 0.6 8.4
94 3.1 2.2 1.5 1.0 0.6 8.6
97 3.2 2.1 1.4 0.9 0.6 8.2
Mean 5.7 4.0 1.9 0.7 0.1 12.4
St. Deviation 2.4 2.1 1.4 0.6 0.4 5.4
Annex Table 3
GAIN IN SHARES (in percent;
using factor P income)
Countries, years first Second third fourth fifth Five deciles (cumul)
Australia 81 2.8 1.4 0.8 0.7 0.3 6.0
85 2.6 1.4 1.0 0.8 0.4 6.2
89 3.3 1.8 1.0 0.6 0.3 7.1
94 3.4 2.5 1.3 0.7 0.3 8.3
Belgium 85 3.7 1.1 0.7 0.3 -0.1 5.8
88 3.9 1.2 0.6 0.2 0.0 5.9
92 3.9 1.9 1.3 0.9 0.7 8.8
Canada 75 1.8 1.0 0.7 0.5 0.3 4.3
81 1.7 1.0 0.7 0.4 0.4 4.2
87 2.1 1.1 0.8 0.7 0.4 5.2
91 2.6 1.5 1.0 0.7 0.5 6.3
94 2.8 1.6 1.0 0.8 0.5 6.8
Czech Republic 92 2.7 1.4 0.8 0.6 0.5 6.1
Denmark 87 7.6 2.6 1.5 0.6 0.0 12.3
92 5.7 3.0 1.9 1.0 0.3 11.9
Finland 87 2.5 1.7 1.3 1.0 0.6 7.1
91 2.7 1.8 1.4 0.9 0.5 7.3
95 4.4 2.4 1.8 1.3 0.8 10.6
France 79 1.6 1.4 1.0 0.7 0.5 5.3
81 2.1 1.2 0.8 0.6 0.2 4.9
84 1.6 1.5 1.1 0.8 0.5 5.6
France (b) 89 2.3 1.5 1.0 0.7 0.4 6.0
W. Germany 73 5.8 2.7 0.3 -0.2 -0.4 8.3
78 1.2 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 3.1
81 2.6 1.0 0.8 0.5 0.5 5.5
83 1.8 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 3.8
84 2.0 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.4 4.7
89 1.7 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.7 4.9
94 2.5 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.7 5.9
Hungary 91 2.9 2.0 1.6 0.7 0.2 7.3
Ireland 87 4.3 3.7 2.3 1.1 0.4 11.8
Israel 79 2.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.7 5.9
86 2.4 1.5 1.2 0.9 0.8 6.8
92 3.0 1.6 1.2 1.0 0.7 7.4
Italy 86 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.7
91 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 1.2
95 1.1 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0 1.8
Luxembourg 85 3.0 0.6 0.2 0.1 -0.1 3.8
91 2.2 0.6 0.4 0.0 0.0 3.2
94 2.4 0.8 0.5 0.2 0.1 4.0
Netherlands 83 4.9 2.4 1.1 0.5 0.0 8.9
87 6.9 2.2 0.6 0.6 0.2 10.6
91 4.4 1.6 0.6 0.3 0.1 7.0
94 4.8 1.4 0.1 0.1 0.0 6.4
Norway 79 7.0 4.5 1.3 0.2 -0.3 12.7
86 6.5 3.7 1.0 0.2 -0.1 11.3
91 3.3 1.3 0.9 0.7 0.3 6.4
95 3.8 1.7 1.0 0.6 0.3 7.4
Poland 86 2.9 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0 3.7
92 0.9 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.1 2.0
95 5.7 2.3 1.4 0.9 0.2 10.6
ROC Taiwan 81 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.3
86 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4
91 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5
95 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8
Russia 92 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 1.5
95 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.0
Slovak Republic 92 3.8 2.1 1.3 0.7 0.3 8.1
Spain 80 7.8 1.9 0.5 -0.1 -0.5 9.6
90 2.5 0.6 0.3 0.0 0.0 3.3
Sweden 67 0.7 1.3 1.2 1.1 0.9 5.2
75 2.7 2.1 1.7 1.1 0.9 8.4
81 3.7 1.8 1.6 1.1 0.9 9.1
87 2.9 1.9 1.4 1.1 0.5 7.8
92 4.3 2.5 1.7 0.9 0.2 9.6
95 4.9 2.9 2.3 1.4 0.4 11.9
Switzerland 82 0.9 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 2.1
U.K. 69 1.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 3.4
74 1.2 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.2 2.9
79 3.0 1.3 1.2 0.7 0.3 6.6
86 4.2 2.5 1.5 1.3 0.5 10.0
91 3.6 1.9 1.2 0.6 0.2 7.5
95 3.8 2.9 1.6 0.8 0.3 9.5
U.S.A. 74 1.2 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.3 3.4
79 1.9 1.1 0.8 0.7 0.6 5.1
86 1.3 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 3.9
91 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.5 4.4
94 1.4 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 4.4
97 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.6 4.1
Mean 2.8 1.4 0.9 0.6 0.3 6.0
St. Deviation 1.8 0.9 0.5 0.4 0.3 3.1
Annex Table 4 Factor income shares (in percent)
Countries, years Bottom decile
Second Third Fourth fifth 5deciles
Australia 81 0.1 1.7 4.3 6.0 7.5 19.5
85 0.1 1.6 4.1 5.7 7.2 18.7
89 0.0 1.4 3.8 5.6 7.2 17.9
94 -0.5 0.5 2.9 5.2 7.3 15.5
Belgium 85 -0.1 0.0 0.0 4.6 7.7 12.1
88 0.0 0.0 4.3 4.3 7.3 15.9
92 0.0 0.0 2.1 5.7 7.9 15.6
Canada 75 0.2 2.6 4.6 6.2 7.6 21.3
81 0.4 2.8 4.7 6.2 7.6 21.7
87 0.4 2.6 4.5 6.0 7.4 20.9
91 0.2 2.3 4.3 5.8 7.4 20.0
94 0.1 1.9 4.0 5.7 7.3 18.9
Czech Republic 92 0.0 1.7 4.7 6.6 8.2 21.2
Denmark 87 -0.3 1.4 4.3 6.6 8.5 20.5
92 -0.3 0.8 3.5 6.1 8.2 18.4
Finland 87 1.5 3.8 5.5 6.9 8.2 25.9
91 1.5 3.9 5.5 6.8 8.1 25.7
95 0.7 3.0 4.7 6.2 7.6 22.2
France 79 -0.2 1.6 3.6 5.2 6.8 17.0
81 0.8 3.5 4.8 6.2 7.6 22.8
84 -0.4 1.2 3.4 5.0 6.6 15.9
France (b) 89 0.0 0.5 2.7 4.9 6.8 14.8
W. Germany 73 0.5 3.4 5.4 6.7 7.9 23.9
78 0.4 2.5 5.0 6.4 7.7 22.0
81 0.0 2.1 4.8 6.3 7.8 21.0
83 0.5 2.7 4.9 6.3 7.7 22.1
84 0.0 0.7 3.9 6.0 7.6 18.3
89 0.0 1.2 4.2 6.1 7.5 19.1
94 0.0 0.8 3.3 5.5 7.2 16.9
Hungary 91 0.0 0.6 2.7 5.3 7.2 15.9
Ireland 87 -0.4 0.4 2.4 4.5 6.4 13.4
Israel 79 0.7 2.4 3.7 5.0 6.6 18.5
86 0.2 2.0 3.4 4.8 6.4 16.9
92 0.2 2.2 3.7 5.0 6.5 17.7
Italy 86 0.0 1.3 4.3 6.2 7.7 19.5
91 0.1 1.6 4.7 6.2 7.8 20.5
95 -0.5 0.9 3.2 5.4 7.1 16.2
Luxembourg 85 0.0 2.7 5.1 6.6 8.0 22.5
91 0.1 2.6 5.3 6.6 8.1 22.7
94 0.0 2.1 4.8 6.3 7.7 21.0
Netherlands 83 0.0 0.5 3.4 5.9 7.3 17.0
87 0.0 0.7 3.8 5.7 7.1 17.4
91 0.0 1.5 4.4 6.1 7.3 19.3
94 0.0 2.0 4.7 6.2 7.5 20.4
Norway 79 -0.1 2.3 5.0 6.6 7.9 21.7
86 0.4 2.9 5.4 7.0 8.3 23.9
91 0.5 2.7 5.0 6.5 7.9 22.5
95 0.3 2.0 4.4 6.3 7.8 20.8
Poland 86 0.2 3.0 5.3 6.8 8.3 23.6
92 0.2 2.1 4.2 5.8 7.4 19.6
95 -2.1 0.2 1.8 4.1 6.2 10.3
ROC Taiwan 81 3.7 5.0 6.0 6.9 7.8 29.5
86 3.7 5.1 6.0 6.9 7.9 29.7
91 3.5 5.0 6.0 6.9 7.9 29.2
95 3.3 4.8 5.8 6.8 7.8 28.5
Russia 92 -0.2 1.0 2.9 4.5 6.1 14.3
95 0.0 0.3 1.4 3.1 5.1 9.8
Slovak Republic 92 0.0 2.2 4.6 6.5 8.1 21.4
Spain 80 0.0 2.0 4.3 6.1 7.6 20.1
90 0.0 1.7 4.3 6.2 7.7 19.8
Sweden 67 0.0 0.8 4.0 6.1 7.6 18.5
75 0.0 1.5 4.2 6.1 7.8 19.6
81 -0.1 1.4 3.7 6.0 7.7 18.6
87 0.0 1.2 3.3 5.7 7.6 17.9
92 -0.3 0.9 2.4 4.9 7.1 15.1
95 0.0 1.3 2.8 4.9 6.9 15.9
Switzerland 82 0.9 3.2 4.6 5.6 6.9 21.3
U.K. 69 0.8 3.5 4.8 5.8 7.0 21.9
74 1.4 3.5 5.2 6.5 7.7 24.3
79 0.1 1.9 4.5 6.2 7.8 20.4
86 -0.2 0.4 2.5 5.0 7.0 14.8
91 0.0 0.6 2.8 4.9 6.8 15.2
95 0.0 0.3 2.0 4.5 6.7 13.5
U.S.A. 74 0.0 2.2 4.2 5.8 7.2 19.4
79 0.1 2.2 4.1 5.7 7.3 19.4
86 0.1 1.8 3.7 5.4 6.9 17.9
91 0.1 1.7 3.5 5.1 6.8 17.2
94 0.0 1.4 3.1 4.8 6.4 15.7
97 0.1 1.7 3.3 4.8 6.3 16.1
Mean 0.3 1.9 4.0 5.8 7.4 19.4
St. Deviation 0.9 1.2 1.1 0.8 0.6 4.0
Annex Table 5
Shares in factor P income (in percent) Countries, years Bottom
decile
second third Fourth fifth 5deciles
Australia 81 0.6 3.3 5.0 6.1 7.4 22.4
85 0.6 3.3 4.8 5.8 7.1 21.7
89 0.3 2.7 4.5 5.8 7.1 20.3
94 -0.4 1.7 4.0 5.7 7.2 18.1
Belgium 85 1.1 4.5 6.0 7.3 8.6 27.5
88 1.0 4.5 6.0 7.3 8.6 27.4
92 0.8 3.8 5.5 6.8 8.0 24.9
Canada 75 0.9 3.5 5.1 6.3 7.6 23.3
81 1.1 3.7 5.2 6.4 7.5 23.9
87 1.0 3.6 5.1 6.3 7.5 23.5
91 0.8 3.3 5.0 6.3 7.5 22.9
94 0.6 3.1 4.9 6.3 7.5 22.4
Czech Republic 92 3.0 5.3 6.6 7.5 8.4 30.7
Denmark 87 0.5 3.9 5.4 6.9 8.3 25.0
92 0.0 3.2 5.4 6.7 8.2 23.5
Finland 87 2.6 4.7 5.9 7.0 8.2 28.5
91 2.4 4.6 5.9 6.9 8.1 27.9
95 1.1 3.7 5.3 6.5 7.7 24.3
France 79 1.4 3.3 4.6 5.9 7.2 22.4
81 1.2 3.6 4.9 6.3 7.7 23.7
84 1.2 3.3 4.6 5.9 7.3 22.2
France (b) 89 0.8 3.3 4.8 6.2 7.6 22.6
W. Germany 73 0.6 3.4 5.4 6.7 7.9 24.0
78 3.0 4.8 5.8 6.7 7.7 28.1
81 2.3 4.6 5.8 6.7 7.7 27.2
83 2.7 4.7 5.8 6.7 7.8 27.7
84 2.2 4.5 5.6 6.7 7.8 26.8
89 2.3 4.5 5.7 6.6 7.7 26.8
94 1.3 4.0 5.4 6.5 7.5 24.6
Hungary 91 0.9 3.5 5.4 6.8 8.1 24.7
Ireland 87 -0.4 0.8 3.1 4.9 6.7 15.1
Israel 79 1.4 3.0 4.0 5.2 6.7 20.2
86 0.8 2.6 3.8 5.2 6.6 18.9
92 0.7 2.7 4.0 5.3 6.7 19.4
Italy 86 2.6 4.6 5.7 6.8 7.8 27.5
91 2.5 4.6 5.8 6.9 8.1 27.8
95 1.1 3.7 5.0 6.3 7.7 23.9
Luxembourg 85 2.2 4.8 6.0 7.1 8.2 28.4
91 2.6 4.8 6.0 7.3 8.2 28.9
94 2.4 4.6 5.8 7.1 8.3 28.1
Netherlands 83 0.0 2.6 5.0 6.3 7.4 21.2
87 0.0 2.7 5.0 6.2 7.4 21.4
91 0.2 3.6 5.4 6.4 7.5 23.2
94 0.4 3.9 5.4 6.5 7.6 23.9
Norway 79 -0.1 2.3 5.0 6.6 7.9 21.7
86 0.4 2.9 5.4 7.0 8.3 23.9
91 2.1 4.6 5.8 6.9 8.0 27.4
95 1.4 4.3 5.7 6.8 7.9 26.2
Poland 86 1.8 4.6 5.9 7.2 8.4 27.9
92 2.1 4.1 5.4 6.6 7.9 26.0
95 -2.1 2.0 4.0 5.7 7.3 16.9
ROC Taiwan 81 3.7 5.0 6.0 6.9 7.8 29.5
86 3.7 5.1 6.0 6.9 7.9 29.7
91 3.6 5.0 6.0 6.9 7.8 29.3
95 3.5 5.0 5.9 6.8 7.8 29.0
Russia 92 1.1 3.2 4.2 5.3 6.5 20.2
95 0.4 2.2 3.8 5.3 6.5 18.2
Slovak Republic 92 2.0 4.7 6.2 7.5 8.7 29.0
Spain 80 0.0 2.0 4.3 6.1 7.6 20.1
90 1.4 4.1 5.6 6.7 7.8 25.6
Sweden 67 0.1 3.2 5.1 6.4 7.6 22.4
75 2.4 4.4 5.3 6.5 7.7 26.3
81 2.0 4.7 5.8 6.9 8.0 27.5
87 2.0 4.6 5.8 6.9 8.1 27.3
92 0.7 3.6 5.3 6.7 8.1 24.4
95 0.4 3.0 5.0 6.5 7.9 23.0
Switzerland 82 2.4 4.1 5.0 5.9 7.0 24.4
U.K. 69 1.9 4.0 5.1 6.1 7.1 24.2
74 2.7 4.6 5.7 6.6 7.7 27.2
79 1.2 4.1 5.3 6.4 7.6 24.6
86 -0.2 2.0 4.5 5.8 7.2 19.3
91 0.0 2.2 4.1 5.4 7.0 18.8
95 0.0 1.1 3.7 5.3 6.9 17.1
U.S.A. 74 0.8 3.3 4.8 6.1 7.3 22.3
79 0.6 3.0 4.6 6.0 7.4 21.5
86 0.6 2.7 4.3 5.7 7.1 20.5
91 0.5 2.6 4.1 5.6 7.1 19.9
94 0.4 2.3 3.9 5.3 6.7 18.6
97 0.7 2.6 3.9 5.2 6.5 19.0
Mean 1.2 3.6 5.1 6.4 7.6 24.0
St. Deviation 1.1 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.5 3.6
Annex Table 6
Shares and sharegains of the middle class
Countries, years Shares of 5 and 6 decile in factor income
Share gain
Share of 5 and 6 decile in factor P income
Share gain
Australia 81 41.5 -6.7 40.5 -4.4
85 40.1 -6.0 39.3 -4.0
89 40.3 -6.7 39.7 -5.1
94 41.0 -7.4 40.4 -5.5
Belgium 85 44.5 -12.1 46.1 -5.8
88 42.4 -8.3 45.9 -5.8
92 44.2 -7.1 43.8 -2.5
Canada 75 41.9 -5.5 41.5 -4.7
81 41.7 -5.6 41.3 -4.5
87 41.0 -5.1 41.1 -3.9
91 40.9 -4.7 41.1 -3.5
94 40.8 -4.8 41.2 -3.5
Czech Republic 92 44.7 -6.3 44.0 -1.5
Denmark 87 46.3 -7.4 44.8 -5.4
92 45.4 -5.5 44.4 -4.0
Finland 87 44.4 -3.4 43.9 -2.0
91 43.9 -3.1 43.6 -2.5
95 41.8 -1.8 42.0 -1.4
France 79 38.2 -5.4 39.3 -3.5
81 42.5 -6.5 42.5 -5.7
84 37.9 -5.1 39.9 -3.7
France (b) 89 39.1 -6.3 41.2 -4.0
W. Germany 73 42.6 -7.6 42.5 -7.5
78 42.0 -7.0 41.3 -3.2
81 42.5 -6.8 41.6 -3.0
83 42.2 -6.9 41.8 -3.6
84 42.0 -9.3 41.9 -3.1
89 41.5 -7.8 41.2 -1.9
94 40.2 -6.2 40.8 -2.3
Hungary 91 40.0 -2.4 43.7 -4.1
Ireland 87 37.0 -5.5 38.2 -5.3
Israel 79 37.9 -4.3 38.0 -4.4
86 36.5 -3.0 37.1 -3.3
92 37.0 -3.2 37.4 -3.5
Italy 86 42.5 -9.7 42.6 -5.9
91 42.5 -8.1 43.3 -5.9
95 40.0 -9.5 42.0 -6.7
Luxembourg 85 43.9 -8.0 44.1 -5.9
91 44.1 -8.0 44.0 -5.3
94 42.7 -6.9 44.5 -5.2
Netherlands 83 40.0 -6.7 40.2 -5.0