For example, if the average pay in a country is 2,000 euros per month, then this distribution implies that the top 10 percent earn 4,000 euros a month on average, the bottom 50 percent 1,400 euros a month, and the middle 40 percent 2,250 a month.6 This intermediate group may be regarded as a vast “middle class” whose standard of living is determined by the average wage of the society in question.
