IME Research: Defining and Measuring the Middle Class*

Our editor Stoyan Panchev, together with the Institute for Market Economics, published a study on the middle class in Bulgaria. A definition is being sought that would allow for the measurement and characterization of people in the middle. See the Bulgarian version of the study.

The middle class is a favorite topic of politicians and commentators, and the thesis about its role in the development of social and economic processes is repeatedly repeated, but not always discussed in depth. In order to be able to state how important a social group is, however, it is good to know what kind of people it is composed of.

The aim of this study is to define and measure the middle class in Bulgaria in recent years, as well as to discuss its political role. After considering a number of methodological approaches for calculating the number of "people in the middle", one that uses the median net equivalent income of a household as the main indicator was chosen.

The results obtained track the development of the middle income class from 2005 to 2010. Specifically, the study shows that:

• about 3.5 million Bulgarians live in middle-income households as of 2010;
• people living in middle-income households are 46.9% of the total population, those with low incomes are 43.4%, and those with high incomes are 9.7%;
• the number of people who can be considered middle class decreased by about 200,000 people between 2005 and 2010;
• the middle-income class in Bulgaria became richer during the economic boom and did not lose much of their income in the first two years of the crisis (2009-2010);
• For a typical four-member family of two adults and two children to be considered part of the middle-income class, their total monthly income must be equal to about 2,400 BGN (as of 2010);
• The number of people living in high-income households increased over the study period (2005-2010) by about 2% at the expense of the middle-income class.

In addition to the above results, the study also discusses the political role of the middle class. Specifically, the author argues for the need for an independent group of people to defend liberal democracy, without seeking to benefit from the political process. The cases in which the middle class can negatively affect the democratic process are also examined, namely - when the well-being of its members depends on the redistribution of public resources.

Read the entire study at: http://ime.bg/bg/articles/izsledvane-na-ipi-definiciya-i-izmervane-na-srednata-klasa-v-bylgariya/#ixzz2VFhHNYwj

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