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Is a growing middle class good for the poor?
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Is a growing middle class good for the poor?

Social policy in a time of globalization

Raj M. Desai and Homi Kharas
Brookings Institution, 2017
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Analytical
  • For Experts

Recommendation

Extreme poverty remains one of the most vexing problems of our time. In this intricate study, academics Raj Desai and Homi Kharas tackle the little-understood relationship between the rise of the middle class and the plight of the poor. In Europe, they report, the emergence of the middle class led to the creation of social safety nets for the poor. But in today’s developing world, such a development seems unlikely, Desai and Kharas indicate. getAbstract recommends this report to experts rather than laymen.

Take-Aways

  • A “red-white” coalition between the poor and white-collar professionals pushed for safety nets that benefited the poorest members of society in Europe.
  • As middle-class voters gain clout, they begin to demand a growing share of the pie, and public spending on the poorest people tends to recede.
  • Examination of nearly 150 years of income data reveals that a prosperous middle class can boost the fortunes of those in extreme poverty, but this effect goes only so far.

About the Authors

Raj M. Desai is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and associate professor of international development at Georgetown University. Homi Kharas is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

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