Size Of Middle Class Research Articles

Examining the Determinants of Poland’s Middle Class Life Satisfaction

Recent works suggest that the increasing income inequalities decreased the middle class size and threatened life satisfaction (LS). However, no such studies link LS with middle-income class problems. The present study aims to fill this gap and characterize LS across the middle-income class in Poland. The main novelties are the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to measure LS of the middle-income class in Poland and the methodological approach based on classification-regression trees (CART) to identify the determinants of LS. The analysis is conducted on the new database obtained from the survey of members of the middle-income class in Poland divided into three subgroups: the lower-middle-income class, the mid-income middle class, and the higher-middle-income class. For comparison, the low-income and high-income classes were also considered. Based on the SWLS results, relatively low diversity in middle-income class LS was identified. However, the inter-class comparison revealed that LS increased with belonging to a higher income class. The CART results support the primary importance of economic conditions such as, for instance, wealth and the level of savings in determining the middle-income class LS and show that their effect depends on their characteristics like professional status.

Selektivitas Pancing Terhadap Hasil Tangkapan Ikan Selar (Selar crumenopthalmus) di Perairan Selat Seram

Gear selectivity is an important part of controlling the size of fish that are suitable for catching so that fish resources are maintained. The size of the hook is one of the factors that affect the selectivity of the fishing line. The purpose of this study is to analyze the selectivity of fishing lines on the results of catching Selar crumenopthalmus. Fish sampling was carried out by following a series of fishing operations by fishermen using hook sizes no. 17 and 18. The Holt method was used to analyze and calculate the selectivity of hook size operated by fishermen on the total length of the fish line. Size distribution of the total length of hook no. 17 in the middle-class size 16.5 cm – 22.5 cm and hook no. 18 in the middle-size class 16.5 cm – 20.5 cm. The distribution of length sizes on both hooks tends to be normally distributed and the proportion of large lengths is higher on hook no. 17. The 50% and optimal (100%) chance of being caught for hook size no. 17 is 18.3 and 20.1 cm, respectively. while the size of hook no. 18 is 167 cm and 18 cm. It is recommended to use hook size for trevally resources in the Seram Strait waters is hook no. 17.

The middle class: An analysis of the dependence of size on the level of income inequality

The article examines the dependence of the middle class size on the level of income inequality. For this purpose, the indicators that characterize the size of the middle class (the share of income of the middle class as a whole and the shares of its different strata) are analyzed. For this the analytical expressions were used which were found using the income distribution model based on the finite functional sequence that was developed by the author and described earlier in several articles. The results obtained in the work show a certain stability of the income share of the middle class as a whole in a rather wide range of the level of income inequality. At the same time, it is shown that there are significant differences in the dependence of the income shares of various middle class strata on the level of inequality. With the help of analytical expressions obtained on the basis of the developed model, a diagram is constructed for an approximate assessment of the middle class size depending on the level of income inequality. This diagram allows to estimate the size of the middle class for its various definitions in relation to the median income. Based on the results obtained, some variants of the possible reaction of the middle class as a whole and its individual strata to the increase in income inequality were considered. It is concluded that the middle class, being a source of stability, at the same time can become the initiator of the income inequality reduction when the inequality level is very high.

Does middle class boost an institutional reform? Evidence from selected Arab Countries

The study seeks to investigate the link between the middle class and institutional consequences in four Arab countries. The study deploys a mixed effect model to measure whether increasing the size of middle class would have a causal effect on institutional outcomes in three important areas: health and education, market-oriented and governance during the period (1990-2015). Finding that larger middle class (proportion of people earning between $4 - $ 13 a day), has negative influence on each of health, tariff, education, and government effectiveness. Also, it has no significant influence on rule of law and corruption.

Choice of Response Strategy Adopted by Indian Private Higher Education Institutions Collaborated with Foreign Education Institutions: Applying Porter’s Five Force Model

Market follows the profit and compete for the resources to get competitive advantage that is inevitable. Private higher education institutions in India collaborate with foreign education providers to deliver education services in variety of modes for enlarging the student share in the market. Applying Porter’s Five Force Model it was analysed how the institutions in NCR of India position themselves in the market forces and strategise to get comparative advantage. India with huge size of middle class and vast system of higher education always attract the foreign institutions to collaborate and expand. The restrictive and proscriptive regulation does not allow foreign qualification in India except twinning mode. The finding of the present analysis using porter’s five force model suggest that regulation of the state must be comprehensive and supportive to encash the flow of market innovations that happen to be. Thoughtful regulatory framework may reap the benefit other wise institutions under market forces offer unrecognised foreign degree in informal way under the orbit of formal institution that motivate less quality tier II and III institutions to supply educational services disguising under formal system of higher education.

Effect of oil revenues on size and income of Iranian middle class

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the effect of oil revenues on the middle-class size and income in Iran. Following Kharas (2017. The unprecedented expansion of the global middle class: An update. The Brookings Institution), it uses an absolute measure to define the middle class as those who earn between US$11 and US$110 per day (2011 PPP). The study employs annual time series data for 1965–2017 and a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model along with impulse response and variance decomposition analyses. Findings indicate that the response of the middle class to positive oil-income shocks in Iran is positive and significant. It is further shown that the channels of international non-oil trade, service sector, and overall economic development are important in understanding the relationship between the oil income and the middle class in Iran. These results are robust when controlling for other channels in the nexus of oil income and middle class as well as alternative definitions of middle-class income based on relative measures obtained from Iran’s income and expenditure household surveys.

Measuring the Middle Class in Africa – Income Versus Assets Approach

Traditionally, economists measure middle class from the income perspective. Considering quality of data for many African countries, relying solely on income may, unfortunately, lead to an incorrect picture. This article compares and analyses the African middle class measured by income and by ownership of assets. Results indicate that middle class sizes differ significantly in some countries, while in others they are more or less the same. Regression analyses performed to investigate potential correlates of the African income and assets middle class sizes indicate that the African assets middle class size is positively associated with income per capita and negatively with assets inequality. To a lesser extent, it is positively affected by education and negatively by ethnic fractionalisation. The African income middle class size depends positively on income per capita and education, while negatively on income inequality.

THE “MODEL MINORITY” MYTH: ASIAN AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION

Data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (2003–2014) were used to both investigate trends in Asian American middle class status attainment before, during, and after the Great Recession and compare such attainment to that of non-Hispanic Whites. Using three different operational definitions of the middle class, we show that middle class size estimates during recession and post-recession were lower than pre-recession estimates for both Asian Americans and Whites. For all three periods, Asian Americans were substantially less likely to have achieved middle class status compared with Whites. The racial gap did not narrow or widen due to the Great Recession. Our analysis also found that basic demographic and socioeconomic differences explained a little over a quarter of this middle class attainment gap.

The Indian middle class, its size, and urban-rural variations

ABSTRACTThis paper provides one of the most accurate estimates of the size of the Indian middle class, using an eclectic set of variables rooted in three major theories of class; Marxist, Weberian, and Bourdieuian. Using this original and theoretically inclusive method offers a solution to the problem of capturing the conceptual complexities of the middle class and provides a holistic examination of its composition. Through statistical analysis of the India Human Development Survey II (2011–12), the paper reveals three significant findings: firstly, it calculates the size of the middle class to be 28.05% of the urban and rural population in India. Secondly, it demonstrates that despite the occupational diversity that exists among middle classes, a large proportion of the middle class are salaried employees. Thirdly, and most importantly, it demonstrates that contrary to common assumptions in the growing literature on the middle class, a considerable segment of the Indian middle class resides in rural areas.

How unequal is the size of middle class in the rural urban areas of Punjab province

PurposeStrengthening the middle class has become a major policy goal in both developed and developing economies due to its social, economic, cultural and political importance. Keeping in view the importance of middle class, the purpose of this paper is to measure the size of the middle class in the province of Punjab (the biggest province of Pakistan by population).Design/methodology/approachThe study calculates a weighted composite index to measure the size of the middle class in the province of Punjab using the microcosmic data set, and the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement 2010-2011 survey data set. The index is composed of five major socioeconomic dimensions, that is, income, occupation, education, lifestyle and housing. The above-mentioned dimensions are weighted through “principal component analysis”.FindingsThe results show that 46 percent of the population of Punjab falls in the middle class. Furthermore, the findings explain that middle class is generally an urban phenomenon in Punjab with relatively high level of education and non-manual occupations.Originality/valueOnly a limited research is available for measuring the middle class in Pakistan. The current research is an attempt to fill this gap by providing some important insight to the research in this area.

Government Effectiveness, Middle Class and Poverty in the EU: A Dynamic Multilevel Analysis

Using the 2008‐2011 EU‐Statistics on Income and Living Conditions data, we implement a dynamic three‐level model to analyze poverty persistence in 26 EU countries. Our aim is to understand why an individual experiencing poverty today is much more likely to experience it again. We innovate with respect to the existing literature by disentangling the effects of observed and unobserved heterogeneity at country level on the process that may generate poverty persistence. In particular, after controlling for socio‐economic factors, including those related to qualitative and quantitative indicators of the welfare state, we analyze for the first time how the size of the middle class in each country affects current individual risk of poverty and its dynamics. Our findings show that the risk of poverty is negatively related to the quality of government activity to social expenditure and to the size of the middle class. Similarly, we show that the impact of past records on current poverty levels may be stronger (weaker) when institutional quality is low (high). This also indicates that good institutions and satisfactory social expenditure may help reducing the adverse current and future impact of experiencing poverty for any level of per capita income and middle class size. Policy implications are also discussed.

Middle Class Size in the Past, Present, and Future: A Description of Trends in Asia

This paper describes the size of the middle class in developing Asia across countries and over time. Based on an absolute measure of the middle class of $2-$20 (2005 purchasing power parity United States dollars), it finds that between 1990 and 2008, the size of the middle class in developing Asia has grown dramatically in percentage share, absolute size, and purchasing power. However, there are large variations in the size and growth of the middle class across countries, with the primary growth of the middle class largely driven by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Considerably smaller growth has occurred in many countries including Nepal and Sri Lanka. Still, a large portion of the middle class residing in the $2-$4 range are extremely vulnerable, and many of the poor in Asia remain in the PRC and India. This suggests that it may be good for policymakers to not only focus on countries that have lagged behind in terms of growth of the middle class, but that it should also concern itself with focusing on countries where there is still considerable room to build, and bolster the absolute size of the middle class in Asia.

Estimation of Middle Class Size in Romania

The middle class, as its denomination suggests, is placed between the basis and the top of the social hierarchy, being the most active component of the present society (Larionescu, Mărginean, Neagu, 2006; Mărginean, 2011).The purpose of our approach is to estimate the size of the middle class from Romania and to determine the possible changes on it by the recent economic and financial crisis upon it. Actually, we have an approach of which shows the probable affiliation to the middle class starting from the position of the people on the labour market. We used two reference indicators, school training and the nature of the occupation – at least high school training and the non-manual occupations, both management and executive positions. The results obtained (AMIGO, INS data) show a substantial increase of the number of people with high school and university training during the recent years, as well as of the some occupations specific to non-manual activities, such as specialists. If we are taken into consideration the full achievement of those two requirements of the definition mentioned above, only one forth of occupied population belongs to the middle class. In the expanded variant of estimation (at least high school education for all occupied population) that value reaches to 50%.

The rise of middle class in rural China

PurposeUsing official and household survey data, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the size of middle class in rural China, its trend and geographical distribution. Determinants or drivers of changes in the size of middle class are explored.Design/methodology/approachAn absolute definition of middle class, adjusted by rural purchasing power parity (PPP) and spatial price index, is employed to measure the size and geographic distribution of rural middle class in 1988, 1995, 2002, and 2007. Biprobit models and OLS models are estimated to investigate the determinants and consumption behavior of middle class in rural China.FindingsMajor findings include: in 2007, as many as 398 million rural residents or almost 54 percent of China's rural population belonged to the middle class; the size estimate of China's rural middle class based on income is broadly consistent with that based on assets; factors enhancing the probability of a household entering the middle class include human capital, political capital and non‐farming employment while industrialization, urbanization and development of TVEs also play significant roles; and the middle class not only consume more, but also consume more durables.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of the paper is the use of 2002 data. However, more recent data are not available.Originality/valueThe size of the middle‐class is crucial for the stability of China, and the growth of the middle class in rural China is crucial for rebalancing the Chinese and global economy. Thus, the measurement results, the identified drivers, and the consumption behavior of rural middle class revealed in this paper can help shed light on nurturing middle class and adjusting development strategy for China to achieve a more sustainable and balanced economic growth.

Penetrating The Middle Class of The Saarc Region: A Gateway to Competitiveness of Emerging India

At a time when emerging India pushes hard for a forward move to gain a competitive position in the landscape of the world this concept paper looks deeper into the potential of SAARC, in particular, the potentials of the ‘middle class’ of the region. Authors, in this paper, have drawn in arguments from a wide array of literatures in favor of the notion that emerging India can further accelerate her growth engine through optimum exploration of the latent potentials of the ‘middle class’ in the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation). The rise in ‘middle class’ in the East Asia has been the result of greater economic advancement of the region at large, which has reciprocated growth further through greater consumption. SAARC region, where the size of middle class stands around 385.25 m with an average annual consumption of $ 310 b holds an immense ground of potential. There exists some common denominators that are shared by the ‘middle class’ in the region; like: aspiration to live better, propensity to consume world class sophisticated products and cultural homogeneity. This qualitative feature adds further to the existing ‘size’ opportunity. With India's lead in technology, innovation, media, R&D and human capital she is in upper hand to realize the potentials of the ‘middle class’ of the SAARC.