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Is There Such Thing as Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • López-Calva, Luis-Felipe

    (United Nations Development Programme (UNDP))

  • Rigolini, Jamele

    (World Bank)

  • Torche, Florencia

    (New York University)

Abstract
Middle class values have long been perceived as drivers of social cohesion and growth. In this paper we investigate the relation between class (measured by the position in the income distribution), values, and political orientations using comparable values surveys for six Latin American countries. We find that both a continuous measure of income and categorical measures of income-based class are robustly associated with values. Both income and class tend to display a similar association to values and political orientations as education, although differences persist in some important dimensions. Overall, we do not find strong evidence of any "middle class particularism": values appear to gradually shift with income, and middle class values lay between the ones of poorer and richer classes. If any, the only peculiarity of middle class values is moderation. We also find changes in values across countries to be of much larger magnitude than the ones dictated by income, education and individual characteristics, suggesting that individual values vary primarily within bounds dictated by each society.

Suggested Citation

  • López-Calva, Luis-Felipe & Rigolini, Jamele & Torche, Florencia, 2012. "Is There Such Thing as Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 6292, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6292
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Is There Such Thing as Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2012-02-24 20:40:03
    2. Is There Such Thing as Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2012-02-24 20:40:03
    3. Is There Such Thing as Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America
      by Maximo Rossi in Wikiprogress América Latina on 2012-02-24 20:24:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Daude & Nora Lustig & Angel Melguizo & Jose Ramon Perea, 2017. "On the middle 70%. The impact of fiscal policy on the emerging middle class in Latin America using Commitment to Equity," Working Papers 1716, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    2. Nizar, Muhammad Afdi, 2015. "Kelas Menengah (Middle Class) dan Implikasinya bagi Perekonomian Indonesia [Middle Class and Its Implications for the Indonesian Economy]," MPRA Paper 98471, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Matthieu Clément & Yves-André Faure & Jean-Philippe Berrou & François Combarnous & Dominique Darbon & Eric Rougier, 2018. "Anatomie de la classe moyenne brésilienne : identification, caractérisation et implications pour les politiques publiques," Working Papers hal-02147850, HAL.
    4. Evgeny Gontmakher & Cameron Ross, 2015. "The Middle Class and Democratisation in Russia," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(2), pages 269-284, February.
    5. Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Julian Messina & Jamele Rigolini & Luis-Felipe López-Calva & Maria Ana Lugo & Renos Vakis, 2013. "Economic Mobility and the Rise of the Latin American Middle Class [La movilidad económica y el crecimiento de la clase media en América Latina]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 11858.
    6. Chuka Ifeagwazi & JohnBosco Chukwuorji & Endurance Zacchaeus, 2015. "Alienation and Psychological Wellbeing: Moderation by Resilience," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 120(2), pages 525-544, January.
    7. Bird, Richard M. & Zolt, Eric M., 2015. "Fiscal Contracting in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 323-335.
    8. Natalie Chun & Rana Hasan & Muhammad Habibur Rahman & Mehmet Ali Ulubaşoğlu, 2017. "The Role of Middle Class in Economic Development: What Do Cross-Country Data Show?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 404-424, May.
    9. Ronelle Burger & Cindy Lee Steenekamp & Servaas van der Berg & Asmus Zoch, 2014. "The middle class in contemporary South Africa: Comparing rival approaches," Working Papers 11/2014, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    middle class; income; values; political orientations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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