The economist Daniel Cohen has just published "The French and money, six new questions in contemporary economics" published by Albin Michel.

For the occasion, Europe 1 offered Tuesday evening to the author to give his view on the money of the rich, the evolution of the middle classes or the relationship of the French to the football economy.

ANALYSIS

How to define a rich person, in France, in 2021?

For our fellow citizens, does happiness absolutely come through the shopping cart and what is there?

Is football a desirable egalitarian universe in the eyes of those who follow it?

So many fascinating questions that economist Daniel Cohen addresses in his latest book, 

The French and Money, six new questions in contemporary economics

, which has just been published by Albin Michel editions.

On Europe 1, Tuesday evening, the author delivers his analysis on these terribly current issues.

1. From when are you rich in France?

It is almost a non-answer that Daniel Cohen formulates to this question: "To be rich is to be richer than those with whom you live. It will depend on the social scale where you are. For a billionaire, to be rich is to be twice as rich as the one you share, say, your country house. For more modest people, it is to be richer than those with whom they work, so it really is relative. "

Less effective, the objective scales of income distribution are nonetheless useful for locating oneself: "We are starting to enter the richest 10% roughly around 6,000 euros and the richest 1% around 10,000. euros net per month. "

2. Are the French blind to their wealth?

In a way, yes, according to the economist, who places his analysis in a historical perspective.

“If I look at France today relative to what it was in 1970 or 1960, it is much richer than it was then. For example, France is four times richer than it was then. 'it was not in 1960. However, the French as a whole are not happier than they were in 1960. "

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And what explains this lesser happiness lies in the hope or despair contained within each social class at a given period: "In 1960, there were many households which did not yet have a television, a car, etc. . But it was a company full of promise. It really felt like the company was pulling everyone up. "

In summary, "we are much richer than at the time but we are not happier because once again, what matters is not the general state of society, but where we are at some point in this society relative to others ". 

3. Is the relationship between the French and money stronger than elsewhere?

Very managerial Germans, very expansive Americans… What if the people who had the most problems in their relationship to money were ultimately ours?

"The relationship of the French to money is much more intense than it is elsewhere. If I compare the degree of indexation of the happiness of the French with regard to their bank account, it is statistically much stronger than 'we do not observe it in England, in Germany and even in the United States, where however the money is a value which appears ", assures Daniel Cohen.

The economist even points to a French "dependence" on money.

"

The French seek in money what they cannot find in their social relations

"

According to him, "this is a sign that, much more than elsewhere, the French have difficulty in forming society. They seek in money what they cannot find in their social relations", with a feeling of unease. among their fellows.

4. Are the rich French less generous than in other countries?

Attention, taboo subject: do the rich French contribute enough to the economy of the country?

Three years after the abolition of the ISF, which has become a lower intensity tax on real estate wealth, the debate is still undermined.

For the economist, the wealthiest French "don't like to show their money and don't like to give back the money they have earned, perhaps because they also know that they would arouse the jealousy of others. French ", objectively less rich than them.

And looking to the other side of the Atlantic will be of no use in consoling yourself.

"A Frenchman at the top of the social ladder gives eight times less than an American, for example, even though the state contributes much more generously to exemptions from charitable donations. In fact, he gives eight times less, but it costs him sixteen times less than an American, since it is roughly in a ratio of one to two that they are compensated, relative to the Americans ", underlines the specialist, who denounces a French" pathology "in this domain. 

5. Will the middle classes be reconstituted?

The harsh coronavirus crisis has not helped, with a destabilized labor market: the middle classes of our society tend to be depopulated, with on the one hand the upper middle classes who manage without too much difficulty to remain well-off, while many households fall into poverty.

"I hope it is not irreversible. I think that on the contrary, we must try to think of all the means to get out of this", affirms Daniel Cohen.

"

Nurses could find more skills thanks to artificial intelligence

"

One of these possible means is symbolized by the digital revolution at work since the turn of the century.

"It is the great hope of new technologies to revive this distribution environment. For example, nurses could find more skills thanks to artificial intelligence. This is all that we must hope to see happen in the years to come. "

6. Is football a “Robin Hood” medium?

The formula could make people smile, with astronomical salaries and a most atypical labor market.

Daniel Cohen explains it at the microphone of Europe 1: "When we look at the profitability of clubs, it is absolutely not correlated with their ranking in international leagues. The best performing clubs in terms of matches won or cups won are not the most profitable. They are often even the least profitable, because our big football stars 'take all the money.' Football is perhaps one of the only places of redistribution where young people from the lower classes make the cash. These are the capitalists who pay these young people, without collecting anything, since their profitability is very bad. "

This is, according to him, one of the reasons why "the French are not at all embarrassed with the absolutely delusional salaries of their football stars".

Another peculiarity of the already atypical relationship of the French with money.