Hence, before accounting for redistribution, “middle-class” households in these countries participated only very partially in overall economic growth, as real GDP per capita during this period roughly doubled on average. Real-term income gains were more sizable in Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and, especially, in the United Kingdom. Median market incomes fluctuated without a clear trend in Australia and Poland and essentially stagnated over the period as a whole. The initial period used for these comparisons, which is dictated by data availability, clearly matters.