Is There Such Thing as Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America

28 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Luis Felipe López-Calva

Luis Felipe López-Calva

World Bank

Jamele Rigolini

New York University (NYU) - Department of Economics

Florencia Torche

New York University (NYU) - Department of Sociology

Date Written: November 1, 2011

Abstract

Middle class values have long been perceived as drivers of social cohesion and growth. This paper investigates the relation between class (measured by position in the income distribution), values, and political orientations using comparable values surveys for six Latin American countries. The analysis finds that both a continuous measure of income and categorical measures of income-based class are robustly associated with values. Both income and class tend to display a similar association to values and political orientations as education, although differences persist in some important dimensions. Overall, there is no strong evidence of any "middle class particularism" : values appear to gradually shift with income, and middle class values are between the ones of poorer and richer classes. If any, the only peculiarity of middle class values is moderation. The analysis also finds changes in values across countries to be of much larger magnitude than the ones dictated by income, education, and individual characteristics, suggesting that individual values vary primarily within bounds dictated by each society.

Keywords: Inequality, Economic Theory & Research, Social Inclusion & Institutions, Labor Policies, Access & Equity in Basic Education

Suggested Citation

Lopez-Calva, Luis Felipe and Rigolini, Jamele and Torche, Florencia, Is There Such Thing as Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values and Political Orientations in Latin America (November 1, 2011). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 5874, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1957031

Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Jamele Rigolini

New York University (NYU) - Department of Economics ( email )

269 Mercer Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10011
United States

Florencia Torche

New York University (NYU) - Department of Sociology ( email )

New York, NY 10012
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
78
Abstract Views
527
Rank
559,388
PlumX Metrics