The middle class in Japan, 1994-2009: Trends and characteristics
The middle class in Japan, 1994-2009: Trends and characteristics
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1994-2009年日本中产阶级：趋势与特征
DOI：
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发表时间：
2019
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
M. Shikata
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Soichiro Tanaka;M. Shikata
在本研究中，我们估计了1994-2009年日本中产阶级的人口份额，并讨论了其特征。中产阶级占总人口的比例徘徊在65%左右（从1994年的67.29%上升到2009年的65.21%），占年收入中位数的75-200%。然而，如果我们将中产阶级的收入范围固定在1994年的水平，2009年中产阶级的收入大幅下降至59.47%，上层阶级也有所下降，下层阶级和穷人有所增加。因此，中产阶级的稳定似乎是由于日本收入分配的整体下降。此外，中产阶级在劳动人口（18-64岁）中所占比例大于老年人口（65岁及以上）。因此，随着人口持续老龄化，中产阶级面临进一步萎缩的危险。与此同时，人口老龄化也影响到再分配政策：总收入的社会转移支付份额在增加，社会保障的再分配效应在增强。此外，尽管收入水平下降，但所得税（包括社会保险费）占总收入的比例没有重大变化。事实上，这被认为是由于社会保险费率上升等因素造成的。
In this study, we estimate the population shares of the Japanese middle class during 1994-2009 and discuss its characteristics. The middle class hovered around 65% (from 67.29% in 1994 to 65.21% in 2009) of the population, having 75-200% of each year's median income. However, if we fix the income ranges of the middle class to the 1994 level, the middle class declined considerably to 59.47% in 2009, the upper class also declined, and the lower class and the poor increased. Thus, the stability of the middle class seems due to the overall decline in Japan's income distribution. In addition, the population share of the middle class among the working population (18-64 years) is larger than that among the elderly population (65 years and over). Therefore, the middle class is in danger of shrinking further as the population continues ageing. Meanwhile, population ageing also affects redistributive policies: the share of social transfers of gross income is increasing and the redistributive effect of social security is growing. Additionally, despite declining income levels, there were no major changes in the share of income tax (including social insurance premiums) on gross income. This is, in fact, assumed to be due to factors such as increased social insurance rates.