The middle classes in Argentina: identification, behavior, aspirations and implications for public policies and market strategies

Seminario de Investigación del IIEP

The middle classes in Argentina: identification, behavior, aspirations and implications for public policies and market strategies

Expositor |  Matthieu Clément | BSE – Bordeaux School of Economics

Abstract 

Based on a mixed approach combining quantitative and qualitative materials, this article examines how the recent crises have affected middle-class’ vulnerability, behaviour and expectations in Argentina. We show that the middle-income group is large but fragmented in terms of educational and occupational characteristics. A substantial part of this group is vulnerable to poverty and has been adversely affected by the recent crises due to the absence of State support. Moreover, we shed light on shared aspirations regarding consumption, education, health, homeownership or security. However, the adoption of subsequent behaviour in those domains remains constrained for the most vulnerable components of the middle class. Finally, people from the middle class point to the unfairness of redistribution policies and the low quality of public services.

This article examines the political positioning of Argentina’s middle class, its aspirations and expectations (i.e., the “demand” side of public policy and private-sector strategies), and identify how institutions integrate these demands into the design of public policies and market strategies (i.e., the “supply” side). To do so, we adopt an original approach combining a qualitative survey of middle-class households and a qualitative survey of representatives of institutions. Our empirical investigations provide interesting insights. First, although the Argentine middle class is fragmented, we highlight shared aspirations in relation to consumption, education, health, housing and security. Second, middle-class respondents are unanimous in condemning corruption, criticizing the failings of public services, and feeling abandoned by redistribution policies. Third, on the supply side of public policy, our institutional interviews highlight the absence of large-scale public policies specifically targeted at the middle classes. For the private sector, however, the middle class appears to be strategic.

Sobre el autor

Matthieu Clément es profesor de economía en la Universidad de Burdeos, investigador en el laboratorio Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE) y director del Máster en “Economía del Desarrollo”. Su investigación se enmarca en el ámbito de la economía del desarrollo y se centra en dos ejes principales: el análisis de las desigualdades y de la estratificación social, así como de sus consecuencias socioeconómicas, políticas y medioambientales; y el análisis de los determinantes sociales de la salud y la nutrición. Sus trabajos se desarrollan en países en vías de desarrollo, con un enfoque particular en países de América Latina (Argentina, Brasil, Chile, México, etc.) y de Asia (China, India, Vietnam). En cuanto a los métodos de análisis, Matthieu Clément utiliza tanto metodologías cuantitativas como cualitativas, otorgando una prioridad al trabajo de campo. En lo que respecta a la difusión científica, ha publicado cerca de cuarenta artículos, algunos de ellos en las principales revistas internacionales de economía del desarrollo.

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