The income in Germany, according to a study in the past few years apart. “The group of middle income has shrunk,” the economic and Social research Institute (WSI) in its new distribution report. The spread was created because the share of households had increased under the poverty line. Similarly, the share of households that had risen above the statistical richness of the border.

Moreover, have entrenched “poverty and wealth”. This is evident from the fact that more and more households einkommensarm or income to be at least five years is rich. The tendency for poor households is much more pronounced. In the long-term comparison of a distinctive, largely continuous increase is shown according to the analysis, since about 25 years in poverty. In 1990 approximately eleven percent of all people in Germany were einkommensarm. This rate increased to almost 17 percent in the year 2015.

In recent years, the increase was also due to the influx of refugees. In contrast, poverty remained rate among those Born in Germany: stable. However, a higher poverty burden is also apparent among them than in the nineties.

differences can be seen according to the report, in the viewing, according to gender and Region: “Persistent poverty in East Germany is about six Times as often as in the old Federal States.” West German men have the most lasting high income. About two-thirds of the well-to-do to be the male, a total of 95 percent of the Income lived in the old länder.

education and Full-time employment were significant factors in order to avoid poverty and to achieve a higher income. Therefore, social barriers to education would have reduced access and the reconciliation of work and family continue to be improved.

“Well-integrated social center”

The WSI-distribution expert, Dorothee Spannagel provides for the stability of society by these developments threatened. The “founding promise of German democracy” based on the fact that all of the people “could secure its own power” a place in the middle of the society. But the reality look different, says the scientist. The income gap is open, the “life-worlds of poor, middle class, and apart Rich fall further”, writes the author.

This process can be accelerated when social mobility is declining, because the duration of, for example, the social mix of the neighbourhoods is decreasing. “Only, if it succeeds, solidified poverty to break open and to prevent the Rich from the company’s discontinuation, it is also possible to get those well-integrated centre of society and to strengthen the stability of our democracy is based,” writes the clamping nail.

The WSI belongs to the Union-affiliated Hans-Böckler-Foundation. For the distribution report, the researchers made use researchers the latest available data from the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP), which relate to the year 2015. For the deferral of income poor and income-rich households, the WSI follows the established rules, for example, to be applied also in the poverty and wealth report of the Federal government: As poor a household that has less than 60 percent of the median income available. 2015, the poverty line stood at a net annual income of less than 12.192 Euro for a single household. As rich households are referred to, the score at least the Double of the median income.