A multidimensional approach to measuring the middle class
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A multidimensional approach to measuring the middle class Mar´ıa Edo1,3
· Walter Sosa Escudero1,3 · Marcela Svarc2,3
Received: 5 October 2018 / Accepted: 8 September 2020 / © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Middle class studies have gained relevance in the economic literature. Nevertheless, a profound lack of agreement on conceptual and methodological issues for its identification remains. Furthermore, it has mostly relied on only one dimension: income. In this paper we present a new multidimensional approach for identifying the middle class based on multivariate quantiles. Moreover, this approach allows for a more general assessment of welfare given that it allows for identifying other groups -the poor and the upper class- overcoming existing strategies. We provide an empirical application for the case of Argentina in the 2004-2014 period. Keywords Argentina · Distribution · Welfare · Feature extraction · Multivariate quantiles
1 Introduction The study of the middle class has been traditionally part of the sociological realm. Going back at least as far as Max Weber (1905) sociologists have dedicated a relevant space to the course of this group across changes in societies, generally defining it in terms of labormarket stratification, associated to human capital accumulation as well as general views, values and lifestyle. Though still lagging behind, the economic literature has recently devoted increasing importance to the middle class (Atkinson and Brandolini 2011; Ravallion 2009; Birdsall Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-020-09464-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Mar´ıa Edo
[email protected] Walter Sosa Escudero [email protected] Marcela Svarc [email protected] 1
Departamento de Econom´ıa, Universidad de San Andr´es, Vito Dumas 248, Victoria, Argentina
2
Departamento de Matem´atica y Ciencias, Universidad de San Andr´es, Victoria, Argentina
3
CONICET, Victoria, Argentina
M. Edo et al.
et al. 2000). This renewed attention derives from its role in contemporaneous societies. Indeed, much is expected from this group. Some authors go as far as claiming that it represents the foundation on which democracy and market economy may flourish (Birdsall et al. 2000). Others point to its capacity in terms of diminishing potential sources of conflict and polarization (Gigliarano and Muliere 2012), as well as its central role in motorizing the economy through entrepreneurship and consumption (Banerjee and Duflo 2008). The issue grew particular attention during the 1980s and early 1990s associated to the so-called “middle-class decline” that was claimed to have occurred in the US and other developed countries. Within the latin-american context, the middle class regained relevance later on, more associated to the need to delve more deeply into this heterogenous group which may include households that face very different trajectories. In this light, a literature
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