A new multivariate approach is introduced to identify the middle class of a society and to measure its possible decline. The middle class is a properly defined central region in attribute space that contains a fixed portion of the population. The decline of the middle class is measured by comparing volumes of the middle class. The use of different notions of central regions is discussed in one ...

The publication of Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition (DCP3) is a major milestone in the global health world. DCP3 reviews and summarizes high quality health intervention effectiveness and cost-effectiveness evidence relevant to low- and middle-income countries and is freely available to users...

BACKGROUND California law has standards for physical education (PE) instruction in K-12 public schools; audits found that the Los Angeles Unified School District did not enforce the standards. In 2009, the district adopted a PE policy to comply with these standards. PURPOSE This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the PE policy in district schools. METHODS PE class observations were con...

While a plethoric empirical literature addresses the relationship between socio-economic status and body weight, little is known about the influence of social class on nutritional outcomes, particularly in developing countries. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the analysis of the social determinants of adult body weight in urban China by taking into account the influence of socia...

We study the effect of competition on income distribution by means of a two-stage experiment. Heterogenous endowments are earned in a contest, being followed by a surplus-sharing task. The experimental test confirms our initial hypothesis that the existence of a middle class is as effective as institutional hurdles in limiting the power of the less able in order to protect the more able players...

The paper provides estimates of the effect of economic inequality on middle class well being in Switzerland. Economic well being is proxied by a person’s satisfaction with his/her income. Two inequality indicators are used, one standard (the Gini coefficient of the pre-tax income distribution) and one novel (the number of luxury car registrations per 1000 population). Identification is through ...

The 1980s was a time of demographic and economic changes: the recession, high interest rates, an aging population, and continuing increases in the number of multiple-earner families. As a result, there has been considerable interest about what has happened to family income (1) during this period. How has income grown and how has it been distributed among families? (2) Did society become more po...