The Middle Classes, the State, and the Market:Lessons from a Double Qualitative Survey in Argentina

This article examines the political positioning of Argentina’s middle class, its aspirations and expectations (i.e., the “demand” side of public policy and private-sector strategies), and identify how institutions integrate these demands into the design of public policies and market strategies (i.e., the “supply” side). To do so, we adopt an original approach that combines a qualitative survey of middle-class households and a qualitative survey of representatives of institutions. Our empirical investigation provides interesting insights. First, although the Argentine middle class is fragmented, we highlight shared aspirations related to consumption, education, health, housing and security. Second, middle-class respondents were unanimous in condemning corruption, criticizing the failings of public services, and feeling abandoned by redistribution policies. Third, on the supply side of public policy, our institutional interviews highlight the absence of large-scale public policies specifically targeted at the middle classes. However, for the private sector, the middle class appears to be strategic.