The statement of Jelena Žarković, professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, during the TV show in the national television program, that a four-member family earning more than 168,000RSD (1,435 EUR) qualifies as ‘upper class’ caused a wave of dissatisfaction in public. If taken into account that the official average wage in Serbia is around 83,000RSD (713EUR) while the amount needed for the average consumer basket is around 97,000RSD (829EUR) and the minimum one 52,000RSD (444EUR), plus high inflation rate, it is understandable that professor Žarković’s calculation seems confusing and questionable. However, she states that the data are the product of a prescribed methodology. ‘Middle class is calculated as the revenue between two thirds and double value of the median revenue, which means that the individual revenue is divided by the so-called conversion co-efficient that depends on the family size and structure. Anything below or above is either a low or upper class,’ she explains. On the other hand, Duško Vuković, Vice-President at the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia., thinks that this type of calculation is ‘completely unacceptable and incorrect’. ‘Professor’s judgement is based on a completely wrong formula that has nothing to do with the reality. If we take a look at current living expenses and citizens’ solvency, it is easy to draw the conclusion that not even the families earning between 200,000RSD (1,709EUR) and 250,000RSD (2,136EUR) can belong to the upper class. According to the professor’s methodology, it turns out that anybody earning between 50,000RSD (427EUR) up to 168,000RSD (1,435EUR) belongs to the middle class. This is neither acceptable nor logical. When it comes to living standard in Serbia, this formula doesn’t reflect reality,’ he points out. ‘All exact data related to the living standard point to the fact that the average wage in Serbia is insufficient for decent life. When I say decent life, I refer to the possibility for a family with two children to be able to pay utility bills, buy food without hesitation, go on vacation while thinking that it won’t cause financial difficulties. Unfortunately, a huge number of employees in Serbia can’t provide themselves with such an average standard and that is why trade union underlines that at this point in Serbia it is necessary to earn around 150,000RSD (1,282EUR) to have a decent life’, concludes Vuković.
