From Bottom to Top: The Entire Income Distribution in Germany, 1992–2003

Abstract

We analyze the distribution of market income in Germany in the period 1992 to 2003 on the basis of an integrated dataset that encompasses the whole spectrum of the population, from the very poor to the very rich. We find a modest increase of the Gini coefficient, a substantial drop of median income and a remarkable growth of the income share accruing to the economic elite, which we define as the richest 0.001 percent of persons in the population. While the elite mainly obtains its income from business and capital, the income share that it receives in the form of wage income has been increasing. We also show that the dramatic decline of market income in the bottom half of the distribution is very much mitigated by income transfers within private households and by governmental redistribution. Copyright 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation International Association for Research in Income and Wealth 2009.

Finance-Dominated Capitalism and Income Distribution: A Kaleckian Perspective on the Case of Germany

“…Whereas top management salaries have contributed up to more than 50 % to the income of the top 0.1 % income share in the US, in Germany top management salaries have so far played a minor role. However, their share increased from 15 % in 1992 to 22.4 % in 2003 (Bach et al 2009). Anselmann and Krämer (2012) also point out that in Germany the rise in top income shares was driven largely by an increase in salaries, rather than capital income.…”

The politicians’ wage gap: insights from German members of parliament

“…Note that in many datasets, high incomes are not very well covered. To tackle this issue, the SOEP includes a special high income sample to increase the representativeness of the upper tail of the income distribution, which has been validated against administrative data Bach et al, 2009). Therefore, the SOEP is the main data source for the German government's reports on poverty and affluence.…”

Multidimensional Measurement of Richness: Theory and an Application to Germany

“…Glatzer, Becker, Bieräugel, Hallein-Benze, Nüchter, and Schmid, 2008). In addition, a multidimensional understanding of richness is related to some concept of elitism, since it is argued that being at the top of the income distribution correlates with being member of society's elite (Bach, Corneo, and Steiner, 2009). However, as for the measurement of well-being, income alone does not explain everything.…”