Class structure, labor market heterogeneity and living conditions in Latin America

Abstract

In this paper we analyze class structures in Latin America (LA) from a sociological perspective, which defines social classes as positions in the labor market. We propose to adapt the Erikson-Goldthorpe-Portocarero (EGP) scheme, which is widely used in early industrialized countries, but has some limitations to account for labor relations in LA. We then use recent survey data from nine latin american countries to delineate a map of class structures and explore the association between class membership and social and economic conditions. our results indicate that class structures not only differ significantly between la and early industrializing countries, but also between latin american countries. there is also a strong association between class membership and social and economic conditions, including social protection and poverty risk. This suggests that a sociological look at social classes is still relevant to understand the relationships between productive structures, labor markets and living conditions in Latin America.