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.

📊 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.

💡 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.