DID THE MIDDLE-CLASS SHRINK DURING THE 1980S - UK EVIDENCE FROM KERNEL DENSITY ESTIMATES

This paper proposes using kernel density estimation methods to investi gate the shrinking middle class hypothesis. The approach reveals strik ing new evidence of changes in the concentration of middle incomes in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. Breakdowns by family economic sta tus demonstrate that a major cause of the aggregate changes was a movi ng apart of the income distributions for working and non-working house holds.