Against a backdrop of falling global and Brazilian poverty, the social profile of households labeled the “new middle class” is reassessed using consumption-based standards of living.
đź“Š What the study looked at
- Used standards-of-living indicators drawn from the 2008–2009 Survey on Family Budgets (POF/IBGE).
- Identified households that emerged from poverty and have been classified, on income grounds, as part of a “new middle class.”
🔎 Key findings
- The set of households identified as the new middle class is markedly heterogeneous.
- Contrary to assumptions based on average income measures, the majority of these households show consumption patterns much closer to economically vulnerable or outright poor strata than to traditionally defined middle-class households.
đź’ˇ What this implies for classification and policy
- From a sociological perspective that requires criteria beyond income to identify social classes, labeling this group a “new middle class” is a category mistake.
- This misclassification is likely consequential for policy priorities and choices, since programs designed for a stable middle class may miss the needs of households whose living standards remain precarious.
Why it matters: Accurate social classification matters for targeting social policy, understanding inequality trends, and interpreting political behavior tied to socio-economic status.
