Abstract
Recently in Brazil, much public attention has been given to the idea of the emergence of a “New Middle Class,” supposedly composed of individuals who have been lifted out of poverty into that condition by achieving an intermediate level of income. This chapter proposes, first, to contribute a critical reflection on the analysis of social structure through income strata, a common practice in Brazil and many other countries, and which supports the idea of the expansion of the middle class. Second, by using empirical analysis based on data from the last two population censuses, to argue that, at least with regards to the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro—RMRJ), no substantial change in social structure can be verified in the last few years. The chapter will try to demonstrate that the recent changes would be more correctly interpreted as an improvement in the standard of living of the lower classes of the RMRJ rather than a growth of the middle class.
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Notes
- 1.
These data were taken from the excellent article by Barros et al. (2010). The figures are based on the 2001–2007 PNADs (National Household Sample Survey—Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics—IBGE).
- 2.
Defined and calculated by the Social Policy Center (Ferreira et al. 2003).
- 3.
All limits were calculated considering per capita household income from work, but the featured values are the equivalent in total household income from all sources.
- 4.
2008 values.
- 5.
See Ravallion (2010).
- 6.
Author’s italics.
- 7.
Id.
- 8.
Souza (2010), in turn, based on a completely different theoretical framework, criticizes extensively what Neri (2008) understands as “middle class,” and emphasizes other factors—close to the ideas of “cultural capital” and “habitus” developed by Pierre Bourdieu—that should be taken into account in a study on class.
- 9.
Also focusing on the socio-occupational structure, Scalon and Salata (2012), using data from the 2002 and 2009 PNAD, argue that changes in class structure would not have been significant enough to support the idea of a new class or the expansion of the traditional middle class.
- 10.
Emphasis added by the authors.
- 11.
Being a metropolitan region, the category “Agricultural Workers” was not included.
- 12.
2010 values (INPC).
- 13.
Employers, self-sustaining workers, and workers without wages have not been included in the analysis due to the difficulty of fitting them into these categories.
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Salata, A.R., Chetry, M. (2017). Social Transformations. In: de Queiroz Ribeiro, L. (eds) Urban Transformations in Rio de Janeiro. The Latin American Studies Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51899-2_4
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