Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A new multidimensional approach to measuring the middle class dynamics: evidence from Morocco

A new multidimensional approach to measuring the middle class dynamics: evidence from Morocco This paper aims to propose a dynamic multidimensional approach to identify the middle class and then to reliably study the structural changes that have marked it in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and aspirations.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses Moroccan data from the 2007 and 2014 household expenditure surveys. The method consists in applying a factor analysis of mixed data on a set of variables inspired by Bourdieu’s concepts of social space and forms of capital, then performing a hierarchical ascending classification consolidated by the k-means clustering, along with adopting the same indicators and weighting for both years studied to ensure reliable comparison.FindingsThe classification results identified three social classes whose changing size reveals a decline of the lower class and an expansion of the upper and middle classes. Some characteristics of the middle class are becoming close to those of the upper class, like fertility behavior, while a significant gap remains between the two classes in other characteristics, like education. Moreover, middle-class perceptions reflect their downgrading, confirming that the so-called decline of the middle class is more related to feelings than to objective realities.Originality/valueMiddle class studies are generally based on a single criterion (income or consumption) with somewhat arbitrary boundaries that are often ill-suited to developing countries. This paper proposes a new dynamic multidimensional approach to overcome these problems while adopting a new technique for reliable intertemporal comparisons. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Development Issues Emerald Publishing

A new multidimensional approach to measuring the middle class dynamics: evidence from Morocco

Download PDF
20 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/a-new-multidimensional-approach-to-measuring-the-middle-class-dynamics-qS09qTR0Ne

References (36)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1446-8956
eISSN
1446-8956
DOI
10.1108/ijdi-03-2022-0049
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper aims to propose a dynamic multidimensional approach to identify the middle class and then to reliably study the structural changes that have marked it in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and aspirations.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses Moroccan data from the 2007 and 2014 household expenditure surveys. The method consists in applying a factor analysis of mixed data on a set of variables inspired by Bourdieu’s concepts of social space and forms of capital, then performing a hierarchical ascending classification consolidated by the k-means clustering, along with adopting the same indicators and weighting for both years studied to ensure reliable comparison.FindingsThe classification results identified three social classes whose changing size reveals a decline of the lower class and an expansion of the upper and middle classes. Some characteristics of the middle class are becoming close to those of the upper class, like fertility behavior, while a significant gap remains between the two classes in other characteristics, like education. Moreover, middle-class perceptions reflect their downgrading, confirming that the so-called decline of the middle class is more related to feelings than to objective realities.Originality/valueMiddle class studies are generally based on a single criterion (income or consumption) with somewhat arbitrary boundaries that are often ill-suited to developing countries. This paper proposes a new dynamic multidimensional approach to overcome these problems while adopting a new technique for reliable intertemporal comparisons.

Journal

International Journal of Development Issues – Emerald Publishing

Published: Sep 20, 2022

Keywords: Middle class; Dynamic multidimensional approach; Clustering methods; Socioeconomic and demographic profile; Aspirations; Morocco

There are no references for this article.