Objective

The analysis of middle classes in Latin America and the Caribbean emerges as a relevant issue given the strong influence of that social group within societies and for economic performance. Middle class appears to be an important source of skilled and productive labour, as well as a claimant sector of goods and services, which stimulates a greater economic dynamism. Evidence suggests that middle class has been increasing over recent years, and in some cases there have been major increases in income that this socio-economic class captures. On the other hand, growth and development of the middle class is a factor that can boost a greater degree of governance and social cohesion: developed and stable middle classes go hand in hand with democracies also more “stable”, as has been demonstrated from recent years in several countries.

In this project, the evolution of the middle classes in the Region is analyzed under diverse definitions proposed in the literature, their consumption patterns and sources of income are observed and a synthetic indicator to measure the level of welfare in the Region from a multidimensional perspective is developed, useful for governments and other stakeholders in terms of the design of public policies and decision making.