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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA global tipping point: Half the world is now middle class or wealthier
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2018/09/27/a-global-tipping-point-half-the-world-is-now-middle-class-or-wealthier/This, more than anything else, is why white people around the world are furious and burning shit down.
We make these claims based on a classification of households into those in extreme poverty (households spending below $1.90 per person per day) and those in the middle class (households spending $11-110 per day per person in 2011 purchasing power parity, or PPP). Two other groups round out our classification: vulnerable households fall between those in poverty and the middle class; and those who are at the top of the distribution who are classified as rich.
Our middle class classification was first developed in 2010 and has been used by many researchers. While acknowledging that the middle class does not have a precise definition that can be globally applied, the threshold we use in this work has the following characteristics: those in the middle class have some discretionary income that can be used to buy consumer durables like motorcycles, refrigerators, or washing machines. They can afford to go to movies or indulge in other forms of entertainment. They may take vacations. And they are reasonably confident that they and their family can weather an economic shocklike illness or a spell of unemploymentwithout falling back into extreme poverty.
By classifying all households in the world into one of these four groups, using income and expenditure surveys from 188 countries, we are able to derive measures of the global distribution of income. Our social enterprise World Data Labthe maker of World Poverty Clockhas refined these estimates and created a new interactive data model to estimate all income brackets for almost every country for every point in time until 2030 by combining demographic and economic data.
yardwork
(61,599 posts)This is indeed why "white people around the world are furious and burning shit down."
This is why BREXIT.
This is why right-wing government in Italy elected.
This is why Trump.
Come on, fellow white people. Show some courage.
genxlib
(5,524 posts)Until you considerate it in the context of climate change.
I am not sure the Earth can carry the burden of a worldwide middle class.
On a different note, I suspect there is an entire aspect of consumer debt not being considered here. How many of those people are living above their means to be middle class.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)There is no contraceptive in the world as effective as economic development.
genxlib
(5,524 posts)And agree in principal.
But generally speaking, our carbon footprint goes up when we gain economic status. I don't know where the inflection point is between small affluent families and large poor ones.
A great deal matters how the new middle class consumes. If they all want gas burning cars to live in the suburbs then we are dead. Hopefully, there is a new attitude about consuming sustainably that can help.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Most oil companies project that demand for fossils only goes down from here
India just built the world's biggest solar plant, and hopes to have an all-electric car population within 10 years
former9thward
(31,997 posts)All of them wrong.
In 2017 the world achieved a new oil production record of 92.6 million barrels per day (BPD), which is the 8th straight year global oil production has increased. The United States was the world's top oil producer in 2017, exceeding 13 million BPD* for the first time ever. Saudi Arabia was second at 12.0 million BPD, while Russia came in at 11.3 million BPD.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/06/14/world-sets-new-oil-production-record/#42c9ecbd752d
Recursion
(56,582 posts)That's what I'm saying. Peak oil *demand* seems to be behind us.
former9thward
(31,997 posts)Oil prices have been mostly stable and inching higher.
NickB79
(19,236 posts)irisblue
(32,969 posts)Women who have higher levels of education have less children
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Because it also goes hand in hand with it. Increase women's and girl's education in a region, and the middle class grows.
https://medium.com/@UnlearningEcon/seeing-like-a-neoliberal-part-2-measuring-progress-7a315f004606
https://medium.com/@UnlearningEcon/seeing-like-a-neoliberal-part-3-the-trend-bias-c5d9118f94d8
https://medium.com/@UnlearningEcon/seeing-like-a-neoliberal-part-4-statistics-states-and-seductive-stories-5612d5544d13
Recursion
(56,582 posts)into being sad about hundreds of millions of people getting out of extreme poverty. But, clearly, you've managed to.
PETRUS
(3,678 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)that their arrogance alone allows them to be mind-readers. But, clearly...
leftstreet
(36,107 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)The authors defined their terms. What does this distinction add to that?
Turin_C3PO
(13,975 posts)As was said above, the birth rate goes down tremendously when economic development occurs.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)People with options have less kids.
And for the life of me, I dont understand how and liberal can dislike more people having a better life as we live in our own luxury.