Title Economic mobility and the rise of the Latin American middle class / Francisco H.G. Ferreira [and five others]

Published Washington, D.C. : World Bank, 2013

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Description 1 online resource (xv, 182 pages) : illustrations Series World Bank Latin American and Caribbean studies World Bank Latin American and Caribbean studies. Contents Introduction -- Economic mobility and the middle class: concepts and measurement -- Mobility across generations -- Mobility within generations -- The rising Latin American and Caribbean middle class -- The middle class and the social contract in Latin America Summary "After decades of stagnation, the size of Latin America's middle class recently expanded to the point where, for the first time ever, the number of people in poverty is equal to the size of the middle class. This volume investigates the nature, determinants and possible consequences of this remarkable process of social transformation. We propose an original definition of the middle class, tailor-made for Latin America, centered on the concept of economic security and thus a low probability of falling into poverty. Given our definition of the middle class, there are four, not three, classes in Latin America. Sandwiched between the poor and the middle class there lies a large group of people who appear to make ends meet well enough, but do not enjoy the economic security that would be required for membership of the middle class. We call this group the 'vulnerable'. In an almost mechanical sense, these transformations in Latin America reflect both economic growth and declining inequality in over the period. We adopt a measure of mobility that decomposes the 'gainers' and 'losers' in society by social class of each household. The continent has experienced a large amount of churning over the last 15 years, at least 43% of all Latin Americans changed social classes between the mid 1990s and the end of the 2000s. Despite the upward mobility trend, intergenerational mobility, a better proxy for inequality of opportunity, remains stagnant. Educational achievement and attainment remain to be strongly dependent upon parental education levels. Despite the recent growth in pro-poor programs, the middle class has benefited disproportionally from social security transfers and are increasingly opting out from government services. Central to the region's prospects of continued progress will be its ability to harness the new middle class into a new, more inclusive social contract, where the better-off pay their fair share of taxes, and demand improved public services."--Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references Notes English Print version record Subject Income -- Latin America Middle class -- Latin America Households -- Economic aspects -- Latin America Occupational mobility -- Latin America Social mobility -- Latin America SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Social Classes. Economic history Households -- Economic aspects Income Middle class Occupational mobility Social mobility SUBJECT Latin America -- Economic conditions. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85074888 Subject Latin America Form Electronic book Author World Bank. LC no. 2012041229 ISBN 0821397230 9780821397237 1283906694 9781283906692

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