that this point of view is generally associated with higher levels of education and has also been expressed by the contacts from Banco Ciudad and the Ministry for Labor. By contrast, some interviewees in profiles 1, 2 and 4 mention the control of the State and public spending, as well as of the judiciary power, as priority goals. Still, none of the interviewees is in favor of the privatization of public services, nor do they consider that the market alone should act in these areas. Some mention the fit between the public and private sectors in areas such as energy and communication and, in particular, profiles 5 and 6 emphasize that this fit should be regulated by the State. Others indicate that the market could contribute on environmental issues.
6.
Conclusion and discussions
The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of the structure and recent dynamics of the Argentinean middle class, to examine the group’s behavior and aspirations, and to assess how the design of public policies and private market strategies is influenced by its composition and dynamics. To do so, we adopted an original three-step methodology combining quantitative and qualitative materials. The first step, based on data from the EPH survey from 2003 to 2018, aimed to identify the middle class quantitatively from a multidimensional perspective, by first defining a middle-income group and then exploring its socio-economic structure through a classification procedure applied to information on education and labor market characteristics. To explore the mobility patterns and behavioral and aspirational traits of the middle class, the second step consisted in implementing an original qualitative household survey among 40 individuals judged to be characteristic of the different components of the middle class identified in the previous step. Finally, in the third step, we conducted a second qualitative survey among twelve representatives of public and private institutions to collect information on public policies and market strategies in relation to the middle class phenomenon. Based on this innovative methodology, our empirical investigations enrich the literature on middle classes in Argentina at several levels. Broadly speaking, six main findings can be drawn from our study. First, we provide evidence about the size and the structure of the middle class in Argentina. The quantitative analysis confirms that the middle-income group (defined as households with daily per capita income between US$10 and the 95th percentile of the income distribution) is large in that it accounts for 77.5% of the urban population in 2018. In line with previous evidence (e.g. Boos, 2020), our qualitative interviews also confirm strong self-identification with the middle class. However, looking beyond this apparent homogeneity, our cluster analysis based on education and labor market characteristics reveals the fragmentation of the Argentinean middle-class, with no less than five groups being identified: (i) the retired and inactive middle class; (ii) service employees middle class; (iii) self-employed and workers middle class; (iv) managers, professionals and employers middle class and (v) public employees middle class. This fragmentation largely echoes prior evidence (e.g. Galassi and Gonzalez, 2012; Benza, 2016) and may hide a form of polarization. In fact, we were able to distinguish a clear upper middle class composed of managers, professionals, employers and public employees, and characterized by the highest occupations, stable employment status and high education levels and income. This upper middle class is often viewed as the historical middle class in Argentina
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