The Rise of a Middle Class in East and Southern Africa: Implications for Food System Transformation

David Tschirley, Thomas Reardon, Michael Dolislager and Jason Snyder

Journal of International Development, 2015, vol. 27, issue 5, 628-646

Abstract: We show five points regarding the middle class in developing East and Southern Africa: (1) 55 per cent of the region's middle class—37 per cent of the ‘non‐vulnerable’ middle class—is rural; (2) 61–83 per cent of the middle class's food is purchased; (3) processed food occupies 70–80 per cent of the class's food expenditure, with similar shares in urban and rural areas; (4) perishable products account for 44–55 per cent of the class's expenditure. Policy attention to processing and to food products ‘beyond‐grains’ thus needs to be ‘mainstreamed’; and (5) the import share of food expenditure does not rise with income in urban areas. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of International Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Date: 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3107

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Working Paper: The Rise of a Middle Class in East and Southern Africa: Implications for Food System Transformation (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:27:y:2015:i:5:p:628-646

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