Measurement and characterization of the middle class in Latin America

Nancy Daza Báez and Maria Fernanda Cortes ()

No 11206, Archivos de Economía from Departamento Nacional de Planeación

Abstract: The present research aims to compare and improve the measurement and, therefore, the de finition of what "middle class" represents, for a group of countries in Latin America, namely Colombia,Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador, using a methodology based on the expenditure of households, compared to the most common approach that uses income as a referent variable. It looks for a de nition of middle class according to particularities inherent to Latin American social composition, and develops a characterization of the sample countries, according to the World Bank GDP (PPP- 2010) classi cation. Additionally, some ndings about wealth distribution are pinpointed using GINI measurements. For the proposed measurements, this study uses household survey data collected with similar objectives and techniques in each of the sample countries in order to quantify and qualify middle classes. Once de ned, the measurements will help governments of the region to re-focus or improve the design and implementation of their social programs and policies that aim to reduce economic opportunity gaps.

Keywords: Middle class; Latin America; Inequality; Income; Expenditure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C12 C81 D12 D31 I32 O54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2013-11-29
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:col:000118:011206

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