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The Rise of a Middle Class in East and Southern Africa: Implications for Food System Transformation

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  • David Tschirley
  • Thomas Reardon
  • Michael Dolislager
  • Jason Snyder

Abstract

We show five points regarding the middle class in developing East and Southern Africa: (1) 55 per cent of the region's middle class—37 per cent of the ‘non‐vulnerable’ middle class—is rural; (2) 61–83 per cent of the middle class's food is purchased; (3) processed food occupies 70–80 per cent of the class's food expenditure, with similar shares in urban and rural areas; (4) perishable products account for 44–55 per cent of the class's expenditure. Policy attention to processing and to food products ‘beyond‐grains’ thus needs to be ‘mainstreamed’; and (5) the import share of food expenditure does not rise with income in urban areas. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of International Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • David Tschirley & Thomas Reardon & Michael Dolislager & Jason Snyder, 2015. "The Rise of a Middle Class in East and Southern Africa: Implications for Food System Transformation," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(5), pages 628-646, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:27:y:2015:i:5:p:628-646
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.3107
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