The middle class in Italy: reshuffling, erosion, polarization

The aim of this chapter is to investigate whether and to what extent the hypothesis of a shrinking middle class and the transformation of the world of work can explain the sentiment of increased insecurity and vulnerability of the middle classes. Section 2 describes the evolution of income distribution over recent decades (1977–2012) and looks at the changes in the relative position of the middle classes in terms of income shares. Section 3 explores the issue of income polarization; that is, whether there has been a tendency for the lower and higher middle classes to move out towards the two extremes of the distribution. Sections 4 and 5 look at the main features of the middle classes according to the occupational status of their members and identify the major transformations in the world of work, while section 6 describes the importance of cohort effects in explaining the widening perception of insecurity and vulnerability pervading the middle classes. Section 7 provides an analysis of the twin effects produced by the fiscal crisis on the middle classes. The case studies take up the issues of insecurity and vulnerability by looking at mobility along the income distribution and intergenerational mobility.