Is There Such Thing As Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America
Middle class values have long been perceived as drivers of social cohesion and growth. This paper investigates the relation between class (measured by position in the income distribution), values, and political orientations using comparable values...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111108082238 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3641 |
| Summary: | Middle class values have long been
perceived as drivers of social cohesion and growth. This
paper investigates the relation between class (measured by
position in the income distribution), values, and political
orientations using comparable values surveys for six Latin
American countries. The analysis finds 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,
there is no strong evidence of any "middle class
particularism": values appear to gradually shift with
income, and middle class values are between the ones of
poorer and richer classes. If any, the only peculiarity of
middle class values is moderation. The analysis also finds
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. |
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