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On Bi-Polarization and The Middle Class in Latin America: A Look At the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century

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  • Joseph Deutsch
  • Jacques Silber
  • Gaston Yalonetzky

Abstract

This paper proposes new measures and graphical representations of the change in bi-polarization and in the relative importance of the middle class that took place in a given country during a given period. These tools extend, in fact, the concepts of inter-distribution income inequality and Lorenz curves by making, first, a distinction between overall, “pure growth based” and “shape related” distributional changes; and then between a “first-order” and a “second-order” change in “shape related” distributional change. The empirical illustration is based on data covering 17 Latin American countries in 2000 and 2009, obtained from the Latinobarómetro surveys for these years. The standard of living of individuals was derived on the basis of correspondence analysis. These new tools help us to understand the changes that took place in the distribution of standards of living during the period analyzed.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Deutsch & Jacques Silber & Gaston Yalonetzky, 2014. "On Bi-Polarization and The Middle Class in Latin America: A Look At the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(S2), pages 332-352, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:60:y:2014:i:s2:p:s332-s352
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/roiw.12133
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Deon Filmer & Lant Pritchett, 2001. "Estimating Wealth Effects Without Expenditure Data—Or Tears: An Application To Educational Enrollments In States Of India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 115-132, February.
    2. Birdsall, Nancy, 2007. "Reflections on the Macro Foundations of the Middle Class in the Developing World," Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, Working Paper Series qt4nt1n232, Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, UC Santa Cruz.
    3. James Foster & Michael Wolfson, 2010. "Polarization and the decline of the middle class: Canada and the U.S," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 8(2), pages 247-273, June.
    4. John A. Bishop & K. Victor Chow & Lester A. Zeager, 2003. "Decomposing Lorenz and Concentration Curves," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 44(3), pages 965-978, August.
    5. Louis-Marie Asselin, 2009. "Analysis of Multidimensional Poverty," Economic Studies in Inequality, Social Exclusion, and Well-Being, Springer, edition 1, number 978-1-4419-0843-8, November.
    6. Butler, Richard J & McDonald, James B, 1987. "Interdistributional Income Inequality," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 5(1), pages 13-18, January.
    7. Joe C. Davis & John H. Huston, 1992. "The Shrinking Middle-Income Class: A Multivariate Analysis," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 277-285, Summer.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bénédicte Apouey & Jacques Silber, 2013. "Inequality and Bi-Polarization in Socioeconomic Status and Health: Ordinal Approaches," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Health and Inequality, volume 21, pages 77-109, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. Michele Fabiani, 2023. "Unraveling the Roots of Income Polarization in Europe: A Divided Continent," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, August.
    3. F. Clementi & A. L. Dabalen & V. Molini & F. Schettino, 2017. "When the Centre Cannot Hold: Patterns of Polarization in Nigeria," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(4), pages 608-632, December.
    4. Clementi, Fabio & Molini, Vasco & Schettino, Francesco, 2018. "All that Glitters is not Gold: Polarization Amid Poverty Reduction in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 275-291.
    5. Marshall Reinsdorf & Robert Hill, 2014. "The 32nd IARIW General Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, 2012: Editors’ Introduction," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(S2), pages 277-280, November.
    6. Maria Livia ŞTEFĂNESCU, 2015. "Analyzing the health status of the population using ordinal data," Computational Methods in Social Sciences (CMSS), "Nicolae Titulescu" University of Bucharest, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 18-24, June.
    7. Sami Remes, 2022. "Decomposition of the Shrinking Middle-class and Directional Mobility in Finland 1995–2012," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1281-1312, August.
    8. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00850014 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Remes Sami, 2019. "Middle class decline in Finland 1995-2012 : Decomposition and directional mobility," Working Papers 1925, Tampere University, Faculty of Management and Business, Economics.

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