The growing and changing middle class in Latin America: An update

Franco, Rolando; Hopenhayn, Martín; B., Arturo León

doi:10.18356/824df8fb-en

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Surprisingly, the use of the white-collar/blue-collar divide has been pervasive in the most recent research on inequality in Chile and Latin America, in which such a categorical split is still used as the standard tool to explain both the ‘mesocratization’ of the class structure – understood as the growth of the (white-collar) ‘middle class’ (Franco et al, 2011; León and Martínez, 2007; León et al, 2010) – and the significant levels of ‘upward’ mobility, defined as the transition from blue-collar origins to white-collar destinations, observed in the last decades (Solís, 2005; Espinoza, 2006; Wormald and Torche, 2004; Jorrat, 2005; Palomino and Dalle, 2012; for a review see Torche, 2014).…”

Section: White-collar and Blue-collar Work And Its Impact On Class Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the fact that recent analysts have shown that the distinction between manual labor and non-manual labor has become irrelevant to account for significant class divisions (Wright, 1985), the traditional split between white-collar and blue-collar work continues to be used in Latin America and Chile as one of the standard tools to describe the ‘objective barriers’ between the middle and the working class (Franco et al, 2011; León and Martínez, 2007; León et al, 2010). Such distinction has also been used to account for both the ‘mesocratization’ of the class structure – i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The End of a Traditional Class Distinction in Neoliberal Society: ‘White-collar’ and ‘Blue-collar’ Work and its Impact on Chilean Workers’ Class Consciousness

Ahumada

2016

Critical Sociology

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For several decades, the distinction between ‘white-collar’ (non-manual) and ‘blue-collar’ (manual) work occupied a central place in the analysis of working-class consciousness. According to many scholars, the expansion of non-manual employment was key to dismantling traditional working-class identities. Although several analysts noted the irrelevance of the white-collar/blue-collar distinction as a determinant of class consciousness, the most recent research on class in Chile continues on the traditional argument. However, the empirical research supporting such a contention has been scarce. In this paper I test that hypothesis. Based on quantitative and qualitative data, I show that the distinction between manual and non-manual labor does not lead to significant variations in workers’ class consciousness. Therefore, its use in recent research on class (e.g. the contention that non-manual employment reinforces a ‘middle-class’ consciousness among workers) is deemed questionable.

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Section: White-collar and Blue-collar Work And Its Impact On Class Comentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The End of a Traditional Class Distinction in Neoliberal Society: ‘White-collar’ and ‘Blue-collar’ Work and its Impact on Chilean Workers’ Class Consciousness

Ahumada

2016

Critical Sociology

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“…The important study of the Latin American middle class carried out by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), reported in Franco et al ( , 2011, explicitly combines income and occupational characteristics into its two-dimensional definition of the middle class. In brief, they define the middle class as all people in the middle-income stratum plus people in the lowincome stratum but with middle-level occupational characteristics.…”

Section: Occupational Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latin America’s Emerging Middle Classes

Dayton-Johnson¹

2015

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The global political economy is in flux as a series of cumulative crises impacts its organization and governance. The IPE series has tracked its development in both analysis and structure over the last three decades. It has always had a concentration on the global South. Now the South increasingly challenges the North as the centre of development, also reflected in a growing number of submissions and publications on indebted Eurozone economies in Southern Europe.An indispensable resource for scholars and researchers, the series examines a variety of capitalisms and connections by focusing on emerging economies, companies and sectors, debates and policies. It informs diverse policy communities as the established trans-Atlantic North declines and 'the rest', especially the BRICS, rise.

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“…One way of defining these classes and distinguishing between them is by looking at sets of traits, such as occupation, income and consumer goods in the home. This approach has been used to describe these classes in Chile and elsewhere in Latin America (Franco, Hopenhayn and León, 2011). For the cohort analysis being undertaken here, the focus will be on the different types of work that members of the middle classes do, since this factor strongly influences their income levels, lifestyles and cultural identities.…”

Section: From the Middle Class To The Middle Classesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chile’s new middle classes: A cohort analysis

Mac-Clure¹

2012

CEPAL Review

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A cohort analysis methodology is used in this article to study Chile's "new" middle classes. It describes the members of these cohorts and compares them with older cohorts that are still economically active. The relative size as of the 1990s and 2000s of these occupationally determined middle classes or strata are analysed, and a distinction is drawn between "new" and "old" cohorts. The question as to whether or not the emergence of new occupational cohorts correlates with differences in income is also explored. This analysis leads to the conclusion that a new middle class has taken shape that is composed of people who became full-fledged members of the labour force during the economic growth surge of the 1990s and 2000s. The upper stratum of these new middle classes occupies a preeminent position, and social class influences income levels.

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The growing and changing middle class in Latin America: An update

Cited by 16 publications

References 2 publications

The End of a Traditional Class Distinction in Neoliberal Society: ‘White-collar’ and ‘Blue-collar’ Work and its Impact on Chilean Workers’ Class Consciousness

The End of a Traditional Class Distinction in Neoliberal Society: ‘White-collar’ and ‘Blue-collar’ Work and its Impact on Chilean Workers’ Class Consciousness

Latin America’s Emerging Middle Classes

Chile’s new middle classes: A cohort analysis

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