The Elusive New Middle Class in Brazil

Bibliographic Data

ID6235534
AuthorsCelia Kerstenetzky (0000-0002-5747-2485, Universidade Federal Fluminense), Celia Lessa Kerstenetzky, Christiane Uchôa (Universidade Federal Fluminense), Nelson Do Valle Silva (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro)
Year2015
Volume9
Issue3
Pages21-41
Publication date2015-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBrazilian Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1981-3821 • E-ISSN: 1981-3821
PublisherFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/1981-38212015000300018
OpenAlexW2197167712
SCIELO_PIDS1981-38212015000300021
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited12

Against the background of the generalized reduction of poverty in the world, and particularly in Brazil, this article intends to gauge the socio-economic profile of Brazilian households that emerged from poverty and have been identified as integrating a "new middle class". Using indicators of standards of living from the 2008-2009 Survey on Family Budgets (POF/IBGE), we found out that, in contrast to what has been assumed on the basis of average income criteria, this social stratum is markedly heterogeneous, most of it being similar in their consumption patterns to the economically vulnerable or outright poor strata. So, we conclude that, from a sociological perspective that demands additional conditions besides income levels to identify social classes, it is a category mistake to call this social stratum a new middle class. We conjecture that this may be consequential in terms of policy priorities and choices

Class (philosophy · Consumption (sociology · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Epistemology · Gauge (firearms · Geography · Middle class · Mistake · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Poverty · Social class · Social science · Sociology · Stratum · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Law · Mathematics · Taxation and Compliance Studies

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