Is there such thing as middle class values? Class differences, values and political orientations in Latin America
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Luis F. Lopez-Calva
,
Jamele Rigolini
Abstract
Middle class values have long been perceived as drivers of social cohesion and growth. In this paper we investigate the relationship between class (measured by the position in the income distribution), values, and political orientations using comparable values surveys for six Latin American countries. We find 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, we do not find strong evidence of any “middle class particularism”: values appear to gradually shift with income, and middle class values lay between the ones of poorer and richer classes. If any, the only peculiarity of middle class values is moderation. We also find 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.
Article Note
The authors would like to dedicate this paper to the memory of Gonzalo Llorente, who unexpectedly left us during its writing. They would also like to thank Nancy Lee, Charles Kenny, participants at the Summer Initiative for Research on Poverty, Inequality and Gender (SiRPiG), and at the Workshop on Socio-Economic Mobility and the Middle Class in Latin America for helpful comments and discussions. Two anonymous referees have provided very useful comments to strengthen the analysis and exposition of the results. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.
Description of values indicators
Trust in institutions: Index based on how much individuals trust (a) the government, (b) congress, (c) political parties, (d) the mayor and (e) the police.
Political alienation: Index based on respondents’ agreement with the following statements: (a) people who are in charge do not care about people like me, (b) the authorities would not do anything if there was a serious problem in my neighborhood, and (c) most people in power only try to take advantage of people like me.
Perception of mobility and opportunity: Index based on the following indicators: (a) How likely is for average youth to graduate high school? (b) How likely is for a poor person to overcome poverty? (c) How likely is for a person to start their own business? (d) How likely is that a smart youth without economic resources to enter college? (e) How likely is that a woman attains a good job? (f) How likely is that any worker becomes a homeowner in a reasonable time? (g) In this country, anyone who works hard can get ahead.
Support for individual rights: Indicator based on the survey question “Which one of these statements do you agree with the most: Individual rights should be respected under any circumstances (coded 1), or criminals should not have the same rights as honest people (coded 0)”.
Legitimization of political violence: Index based on the following items: Do you think the use violence is justified in the following cases: (a) When indigenous minorities claim their ancestral land; (b) When revolutionary social change is attempted; (c) When the environment is being protected; (d) When the poor claim better living conditions; (e) When people oppose a dictatorship.
Voted: Indicator based on the survey question: Do you vote in presidential elections, recoded so that 1 = always vote, 0 = sometimes or never vote.
Social tolerance: Index based on the following indicators: How uncomfortable would you be in the following situations: (a) If your child married someone of a class lower than yours; (b) If your neighbor was a different race; (c) If your child had a homosexual friend; (d) If your neighbor was an immigrant worker; (e) If your neighbor was of a class lower than yours; (f) If your child married an atheist.
Nationalism: Index based on the following indicators: (a) Considering the good and the bad, I am proud of being (nationality); (b) (Country) should defend our national interests, even if that creates conflicts with other countries; (c) (Country) should limit imports of foreign product to protect the national economy; (d) TV in (country) should favor national shows and films.
Political ideology: Indicator based on the survey question “Using a scale in which 1 means a left-wing position and 10 means a right-wing position, where would you place yourself?”
Interpersonal trust: Indicator based on the survey question “Speaking in general, do you think most people can be trusted (coded 1) or you can never be too careful (coded 0)?”
Interpersonal alienation: Index based on the following indicators: (a) In general, what I think does not count very much; (b) I am always left out of things going on around me; (c) People around me would not do much if something happened to me; (d) Most people try to take advantage of me.
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Global Absolute Poverty: Behind the Veil of Dollars
- Is there such thing as middle class values? Class differences, values and political orientations in Latin America
- The Impact of Income Distribution on the Current Account
- Hidden Inequality: How Much Difference Would Adjustment for Illicit Financial Flows Make to National Income Distributions?
- Few and Far Between: Some Explanations of Health Provisions in Trade Agreements
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Global Absolute Poverty: Behind the Veil of Dollars
- Is there such thing as middle class values? Class differences, values and political orientations in Latin America
- The Impact of Income Distribution on the Current Account
- Hidden Inequality: How Much Difference Would Adjustment for Illicit Financial Flows Make to National Income Distributions?
- Few and Far Between: Some Explanations of Health Provisions in Trade Agreements
