The Latin American Middle Class: Fragile After All?

Francesca Castellani (), Gwenn Parent and Jannet Zenteno

No 6733, IDB Publications (Working Papers) from Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract: This paper joins in the debate on the size of the middle class in Latin America, providing an analysis of its structure and characteristics. Using several measurements, it finds that 40-60 percent of Latin American households are middle class, a share which has consolidated over the past decade. The analysis reveals that gender, age, and education are associated with the likelihood of being middle class. The example of Colombia illustrates that, while growing in size, this income group still faces deficits in crucial dimensions of well-being, such as education, job formality, and health care, which are generally associated with being middle class. The analysis reveals the fragility of this emerging group in the region.

Keywords: Middle; class (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D I (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-12
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:idb:brikps:6733

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