The annual global study of the Credit Suisse indicates the devastating effects of the financial crisis on global households.
In Greece, between mid 2014 and mid 2015 the average wealth of Greeks fell from 98,097 dollars to 81,432, which corresponds to a 16,9 per cent decline. In mid 2015 total wealth fell to 734 billion from 894 billion that was in 2014.
Credit Suisse estimates the wealth of households by considering non financial assets such as housing and farms as well as financial assets such as currency, equities, and other financial assets such as pension funds.
The Greek middle class expanded between 2000 and 2007 but since 2008 the number of adults in Greece that are considered middle class has fallen by 800,000 people.
According to the report the middle class contracted in size this century in five countries: Argentina, Egypt, Greece, Russia and Turkey. In each case, the middle class expanded between 2000 and 2007, then shrank as a result of the financial crisis and continued to shed members from 2008 onwards.
“After trebling in size by 2007, Russia has lost more middle class members since 2008 than any other country. Like Greece and Turkey, the middle class in Russia is only a little smaller now than in 2000, ” the report notes.
However the middle class has been squeezed in recent years on a global level.
The report notes that from 2008 onwards wealth growth has not allowed middle class numbers to keep pace with population growth and the distribution of wealth has shifted in favour of those at higher wealth levels. As a result middle class wealth has declined in every region since 2007, and for the entire 2000– 2015 period.
Distribution of private wealth has been largely uneven. In the United States the number of adults beyond the middle class rose by almost 50% between 2000 and 2015. However the middle class had declined by 17 per cent in the country.
The situation raises concerns as it reveals that although middle-class wealth has grown in total at a global level, the share of wealth has declined. It indicates that the wealth of the people that climb the social ladder is significantly more than those moving into the middle class.
Τhe uneven distribution of wealth and the global decline of the middle class cannot be attributed to mere domestic policies since this is a global phenomenon that extends beyond the control of specific governments. It should be related to global economic policies which allow a fragment of the population to accumulate assets and wealth but at the same time exclude larger segments from access to this wealth.