ABSTRACT
This book has presented a picture of the emerging middle class in Africa. Statistics on consumption patterns, jobs, education, entrepreneurship, gender, and health all tell a story about the factors driving the growth of this important segment of the population, and its implications for African policymakers. The analysis has looked at how people become middle class – be it through education and access to the formal labor market, by relocating to areas where there are better-paid, steady jobs, or through their own entrepreneurship. We have also examined how behavior alters in the process, in terms of consumption patterns, including spending on health, education, housing, amenities, and material assets. Another crucial dimension is whether growth of the middle class affects gender relations. We have examined the evidence to assess whether men and women share equally in the benefits and status of increasing affluence and what policymakers might do to improve women’s life chances.
