In the wake of Donald Trump’s election and the Brexit vote, Canada’s Privy Council Office (PCO) identified the need to better understand emerging concerns about the middle class. In response, I wrote a 20-page literature review summarizing and synthesizing the major academic literature surrounding middle class social and economic progress. 

 

The results, presented to senior members of the Privy Council, concluded that wage and wealth stagnation amongst the middle class over the past 35 years contributed to the Trump and Brexit votes and that these conditions are in no way dissimilar to the conditions of the Canadian middle class. 

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The report may be found here.