The Emerging Middle Class in Africa

The book analyses specific aspects of the lives of the middle class in Africa. It looks at how people become and remain in the middle class through a series of thematic chapters. It examines how behaviour changes in the process, in terms of consumption patterns, spending on health, education, and housing. A further dimension taken up in this analysis is how class impacts gender relations and whether women are equally reaping the benefits of social advancement as men.

Mthuli Ncube is Chief Economist and Vice-President of the African Development Bank Group. He oversees the process of knowledge generation and management within the bank and its regional member countries.Professor Ncube is a Senior Research Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK, and a Research Fellow at St Anthony's College, University of Oxford, UK. Charles Leyeka Lufumpa is Director of the Statistics Department at the African Development Bank Group. He oversees the bank's activities to build statistical capacity as well as the data needs for results measurement in its operations in African countries.

Foreword: Calestous Juma Introduction Mthuli Ncube 1. Dynamics of the Middle Class in Africa Charles Leyeka Lufumpa, Maurice Mubila and Mohamed Safouane Ben Aïssa 2. The Political Economy of the African Middle Class Michael Lofchie 3. Consumption Patterns Oliver J. M Chinganya, Mary Strode, Lee Crawfurd, Marta Moratti and Felix Schmieding 4. Jobs and the Labor Market Mary Strode, Lee Crawfurd, Simon Dettling and Felix Schmieding 5. Entrepreneurship Mohamed Ayadi and Mohamed Safouane Ben Aïssa 6. Education Benedict Kunene, Maurice Mubila and Oluyele A. Akinkugbe 7. Gender Abena Oduro and Alice Nabalamba 8. Health Alice Nabalamba and Helen Johansen Conclusion Mthuli Ncube