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Measuring changes in the Russian middle class between 1992 and 2008: a nonparametric distributional analysis

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  • Zoya Nissanov

    (Ariel University)

  • Maria Grazia Pittau

    (Sapienza University of Rome)

Abstract

Since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, Russia is generally acknowledged to be one of the most complicated countries in the world, from a sociological perspective. In particular, the evolution of the Russian middle class is an interesting but highly complex phenomenon. Most works dealing with this issue are based on summary statistics, which do not fully convey all the information on income distribution. In the present paper, we analyze the evolution of the middle class in Russia from 1992 to 2008, by applying a nonparametric tool, the “relative distribution,” to Russian household incomes. The relative density function is a proper density function which compares two distributions observed in different years, in order to describe patterns of differences on the entire income scale. Despite a stable pattern of high inequality, we found that after a period of income convergence characterized by a rise of the middle class, in 1998 Russian households income started to polarize and in 2008 one can observe a very high degree of polarization and a marked decrease in the middle class. This shrinking of the middle class affected particularly incomes below the median. Our results can be related to the social reforms and can be partially explained by the characteristics of the Russian labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Zoya Nissanov & Maria Grazia Pittau, 2016. "Measuring changes in the Russian middle class between 1992 and 2008: a nonparametric distributional analysis," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 503-530, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:50:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s00181-015-0929-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-015-0929-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Clementi,F. & Fabiani,M. & Molini,V., 2018. "The devil is in the details : growth, polarization, and poverty reduction in Africa in the past two decades," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8494, The World Bank.
    2. Kseniya Abanokova & Hai-Anh H. Dang, 2023. "Poverty in Russia: a bird’s-eye view of trends and dynamics in the past quarter of a century," Chapters, in: Jacques Silber (ed.), Research Handbook on Measuring Poverty and Deprivation, chapter 58, pages 627-635, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Zhang, Chen & Yu, Yangcheng & Li, Qinghai, 2023. "Top incomes and income polarisation in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Clementi, Fabio & Molini, Vasco & Schettino, Francesco, 2018. "All that Glitters is not Gold: Polarization Amid Poverty Reduction in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 275-291.
    5. Ricci, Chiara Assunta & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "The role of Great Recession on income polarization by population groups," GLO Discussion Paper Series 766, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Osnat Peled & Jacques Silber, 2021. "On the Measurement of Relative, Absolute and Intermediate Pro-middle Class Growth," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Research on Economic Inequality: Poverty, Inequality and Shocks, volume 29, pages 139-167, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    7. Fabio Clementi & Vasco Molini & Francesco Schettino & Haider A. Khan & Michele Fabiani, 2023. "Polarization and its discontents: Morocco before and after the Arab Spring," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(1), pages 105-129, March.
    8. Chiara Assunta Ricci & Sergio Scicchitano, 2021. "Decomposing changes in income polarization by population group: what happened during the crisis?," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(1), pages 235-259, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income distribution; Middle class; Relative distribution; Russia; Transition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

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