Abstract Narrative The doctoral student supported by this award will investigate regional changes in income distribution in the United States from 1968 to 1986 by analyzing data from the Current Population Survey compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Her specific interest is in changes in the size and location of the middle segment of the earnings distribution (the "middle class"), which will be defined and measured in two different ways. The purpose of this project is to determine whether the middle class is shrinking as a percentage of the total population, as is often alleged, and if so, how changes in the middle class vary from region to region in the United States. The changes and regional variations documented by the analysis will then be related to national and regional changes in economic structure during the period of analysis. This project will yield important theoretical and policy insights concerning the relationships between regional industrial development and regional income changes.
