Publication:
A Vulnerability Approach to the Definition of the Middle Class

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dc.contributor.authorOrtiz-Juarez, Eduardo
dc.contributor.authorLopez-Calva, Luis F.
dc.date.accessioned2012-03-19T18:06:32Z
dc.date.available2012-03-19T18:06:32Z
dc.date.issued2011-12-01
dc.description.abstractMeasurement of the middle class has recently come to the center of policy debate in middle-income countries as they search for the potential engines of growth and good governance. This debate assumes, first, that there is a meaningful definition of class, and second, that thresholds that define relatively homogeneous groups in terms of pre-determined sociological characteristics can be found empirically. This paper aims at proposing a view of the middle class based on vulnerability to poverty. Following this approach the paper exploits panel data to determine the amount of comparable income -- associated with a low probability of falling into poverty -- which could define the lower bound of the middle class. The paper looks at absolute thresholds, challenging the view that people above the poverty line are actually part of the middle class. The estimated lower threshold is used in cross-section surveys to quantify the size and the evolution of middle classes in Chile, Mexico, and Peru over the past two decades. The first relevant feature relates to the fact that the proposed thresholds lie around the 60th percentile of the distribution. The evidence also shows that the middle class has increased significantly in all three countries, suggesting that a higher number of households face lower probabilities of falling into poverty than they did in the 1990s. There is an important group of people, however, which cannot be defined as middle class from this perspective, but are not eligible for poverty programs according to traditional definitions of poverty.en
dc.identifierhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111207160021
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-5902
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/3669
dc.languageEnglish
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5902
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectABSOLUTE POVERTY
dc.subjectABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE
dc.subjectABSOLUTE TERMS
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL WORKERS
dc.subjectCAPITA EXPENDITURE
dc.subjectCARIBBEAN REGION
dc.subjectCENTRAL REGION
dc.subjectCROSS-SECTIONAL DATA
dc.subjectDAILY INCOME
dc.subjectDATA QUALITY
dc.subjectDECLINING INEQUALITY
dc.subjectDEFINITIONS OF POVERTY
dc.subjectDEPENDENT VARIABLE
dc.subjectDESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
dc.subjectDEVELOPING COUNTRIES
dc.subjectDEVELOPING WORLD
dc.subjectECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectECONOMIC DOWNTURNS
dc.subjectECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subjectECONOMIC INEQUALITY
dc.subjectECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectECONOMIC SHOCK
dc.subjectECONOMIC SHOCKS
dc.subjectECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL WORK
dc.subjectFARMER
dc.subjectFARMERS
dc.subjectGROUP MEANS
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD DATA
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD HEAD
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD PER CAPITA INCOME
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD SIZE
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD STRATEGIES
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD SURVEY
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
dc.subjectHOUSING
dc.subjectHUMAN CAPITAL
dc.subjectHUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT
dc.subjectINCIDENCE OF POVERTY
dc.subjectINCOME
dc.subjectINCOME DISTRIBUTION
dc.subjectINCOME DISTRIBUTIONS
dc.subjectINCOME EQUATION
dc.subjectINCOME GROUPS
dc.subjectINCOME LEVEL
dc.subjectINCOME LEVELS
dc.subjectINCOME QUINTILES
dc.subjectINCOME RISK
dc.subjectINCOME SHARE
dc.subjectINCOMES
dc.subjectINEQUALITY
dc.subjectINSURANCE
dc.subjectINSURANCE MARKETS
dc.subjectINTERNATIONAL POVERTY LINE
dc.subjectLABOR MARKET
dc.subjectLINEAR MODEL
dc.subjectLINEAR REGRESSION
dc.subjectLOCAL INSTITUTIONS
dc.subjectLOGARITHMIC SCALE
dc.subjectLONGITUDINAL DATA
dc.subjectMEASUREMENT OF POVERTY
dc.subjectMEDIAN INCOME
dc.subjectMEDIAN POVERTY
dc.subjectMETROPOLITAN REGION
dc.subjectMIDDLE CLASS
dc.subjectMIDDLE CLASS CONSENSUS
dc.subjectMINIMUM LEVEL
dc.subjectNEGATIVE SHOCKS
dc.subjectPER CAPITA INCOMES
dc.subjectPOLICY DISCUSSIONS
dc.subjectPOLICY RESEARCH
dc.subjectPOLITICAL ECONOMY
dc.subjectPOLITICAL SCIENTISTS
dc.subjectPOLITICAL STABILITY
dc.subjectPOOR
dc.subjectPOOR HOUSEHOLDS
dc.subjectPOOR INDIVIDUALS
dc.subjectPOOR POPULATION
dc.subjectPOVERTY ANALYSIS
dc.subjectPOVERTY DYNAMICS
dc.subjectPOVERTY ESTIMATES
dc.subjectPOVERTY INCIDENCE
dc.subjectPOVERTY LEVELS
dc.subjectPOVERTY LINE
dc.subjectPOVERTY LINES
dc.subjectPOVERTY MEASURE
dc.subjectPOVERTY MEASUREMENT
dc.subjectPOVERTY PROGRAMS
dc.subjectPOVERTY STATUS
dc.subjectPRIMARY EDUCATION
dc.subjectPUBLIC INTERVENTION
dc.subjectREGIONAL LEVELS
dc.subjectREGRESSION ANALYSIS
dc.subjectRURAL
dc.subjectRURAL AREAS
dc.subjectRURAL RESIDENCE
dc.subjectSAFETY NETS
dc.subjectSANITATION
dc.subjectSAVINGS
dc.subjectSCHOOLING
dc.subjectSIGNIFICANCE LEVEL
dc.subjectSKILLED WORKERS
dc.subjectSMALL FARMERS
dc.subjectSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectSOCIAL MOBILITY
dc.subjectSOCIAL POLICIES
dc.subjectSOCIAL PROTECTION
dc.subjectUNEMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectURBAN AREAS
dc.subjectVULNERABILITY TO POVERTY
dc.subjectVULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDS
dc.titleA Vulnerability Approach to the Definition of the Middle Classen
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleA Vulnerability Approach to the Definition of the Middle Class
okr.date.disclosure2011-12-01
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-10T11:06:37.803040Z
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.docurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111207160021
okr.globalpracticePoverty
okr.guid553321468297271070
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-5902
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000158349_20111207160021
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum15534190
okr.identifier.reportWPS5902
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/12/07/000158349_20111207160021/Rendered/PDF/WPS5902.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeLatin America & Caribbean
okr.region.countryChile
okr.region.countryPeru
okr.region.countryMexico
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Urban Partnerships & Poverty
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Services & Transfers to Poor
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Inequality
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Rural Poverty Reduction
okr.unitDevelopment Research Group (DECRG)
okr.volume1 of 1
relation.isAuthorOfPublication4a5ab8d0-522b-5033-8fc3-5372cdcf7860
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery4a5ab8d0-522b-5033-8fc3-5372cdcf7860
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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