Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class // Sous pression : la classe moyenne en perte de vitesse (April 2019)

Middle-class households feel left behind and have questioned the benefits of economic globalisation. In many OECD countries, middle incomes have grown less than the average and in some they have not grown at all. The costs of some goods and services such as housing, which are essential for a middle-class lifestyle, have risen faster than earnings and overall inflation.  This report sheds light on the multiple pressures on the middle class. 

A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility //  L'ascenseur social en panne ? Comment promouvoir la mobilité sociale (2018)

This report provides new evidence on social mobility in the context of increased inequalities of income and opportunities in OECD and selected emerging economies. There is in particular a lack of mobility at the bottom and at the top of the social ladder – with “sticky floors” preventing upward mobility for many and “sticky ceilings” associated with opportunity hoarding at the top. The lack of social mobility has economic, societal and political consequences. This report shows that there is space for policies to make societies more mobile and protect households from adverse income shocks. 

In It Together: Why Less Inequality Benefits All // Tous concernés: Pourquoi moins d’inégalité profite à tous (2015)

The gap between rich and poor keeps widening. Growth, if any, has disproportionally benefited higher income groups while lower income households have been left behind. This long-run increase in income inequality not only raises social and political concerns, but also economic ones.

Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising // Toujours plus d'inégalité : Pourquoi les écarts de revenus se creusent
(December 2011)
In the three decades prior to the recent economic downturn, wage gaps widened and household income inequality increased in a large majority of OECD countries. This occurred even when countries were going through a period of sustained economic and employment growth. 

Income Distribution in OECD countries (1995)

This study (from 1995) compares income distribution in OECD countries in terms of its dispersion between households on a standardised basis.

New OECD research suggests that widening inequality is indeed undermining growth. Evidence like this will fuel calls to review the tax contribution of wealthier households to ensure we are more effectively redistributing the benefits of growth to the middle and lower classes and promoting equal opportunities in education and health. Without concerted political action, the gap between the rich and poor will grow even wider in the years ahead.   

"How to combat the tightening grip of inequality around the globe": PBS NewsHour with OECD Secretary-General

Income inequality has been rising over the past three decades, in the United States most of all, but also in the United Kingdom, Canada and France.  Judy Woodruff talk to Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the OECD, about how inequality depresses economic growth.