The urban middle classes in Asia are growing. What characterizes urban Asian middle-class families and their processes of becoming middle-class? And does migration matter for families’ social mobility?
In four briefs, these questions are addressed, looking specifically at Metro Manila, Hanoi, Mumbai and Karachi. The PRIO briefs draw on survey and family history data, collected and analysed as part of the 'Migration Rhythms in Trajectories of Upward Social Mobility in Asia' (ERC-funded) research project.
Diving into a particular feature of ongoing developments, as urbanisation and development processes intersect with (im)mobilities, these four briefs offer new, grounded, and specific insights, taking a longitudinal rather than presentist approach.
Each brief considers the particular context of urban middleclassness, respectively in Metro Manila, Hanoi, Mumbai and Karachi. Next urban middle-class residents' perceptions of middleclassness, based on survey data are shared. This offers a spring-board for discussion of the plural nature of Asian urban middleclasses, as further demonstrated by our family history interview data. A key question, in the briefs, and the broader project, concerns the presence/absence but also potential meaning and salience of people moving, leaving and/or staying. In other words: Does migration matter? Lastly, the briefs share analysis on (im)mobility considerations looking forward, reporting findings from the survey where respondents where asked whether they expected to migrate elsewhere in the next five years. To find out more - explore the briefs!
- Middle classes, moving and staying in Metro Manila
- Middle classes, moving and staying in Hanoi
- Middle classes, moving and staying in Mumbai
- Middle classes, moving and staying in Karachi
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