Decomposing wage developments of earners between the 90th (top) and the 10th (bottom) percentiles allows a comparison of the ratio of wages at the 90th percentile with that of the 50th percentile (the 90-50 ratio) and the ratio of wages at the 50th percentile with that of the 10th percentile (the 50-10 ratio). Data points for members of the EU are ordered by changes in the share of highest-paying occupations. By contrast, the 50-10 ratio has remained fairly stable at a level of about 15 per cent above its level of the early 1970s. More detailed evidence indicates that the gap between the 10th percentile and the median has substantially contracted over the past few years (Acemoglu and Autor, 2012: 13).