Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/44945 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Papers in Statistics and Econometrics No. 3/08
Publisher: 
University of Cologne, Seminar of Economic and Social Statistics, Cologne
Abstract: 
The decline of the middle class has been investigated as a principal aspect of social polarization (Wolfson 1994, 1997). Wang and Tsui 2000 have characterized a class of polarization measures by postulates on normalization, increasing spread and increasing bipolarity. The present paper generalizes this class of measures. It defines polarization by aggregating measures of poverty and of affluence, focussing on incomes outside a middle class interval. The approach is applied to German data on income distribution.
Subjects: 
decline of middle class
income distribution
income richness
JEL: 
D31
D63
I32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
180.38 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.