Measuring the Middle Class in Kazakhstan : A Subjective Approach
This paper proposes a model-based approach to estimate income boundaries for identifying the middle class in Kazakhstan over 2003-15. The approach exploits the subjective evaluation of Kazakhstan households about their social status, relating self-...
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/908931535390485565/Measuring-the-Middle-Class-in-Kazakhstan-A-Subjective-Approach http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30320 |
| Summary: | This paper proposes a model-based
approach to estimate income boundaries for identifying the
middle class in Kazakhstan over 2003-15. The approach
exploits the subjective evaluation of Kazakhstan households
about their social status, relating self-declared social
class membership to income. Income data come from the
Kazakhstan Household Budget Survey, which also includes a
specific module on quality of life and perceived social
status. As social status is intrinsically an ordinal
response, the paper estimates a proportional odds model with
income as the key explanatory variable. Although other
factors influence the self-perception of being in the middle
class, income is by far the most important determinant.
Benchmarking on 2013, the estimated middle class lower bound
is $14 at 2011 purchasing power parity and the upper bound
is $52. The Kazakhstan middle class has increased massively
in size and income concentration. The increase is
essentially due to a growth effect rather than a
redistributive cause. |
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