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Introduction

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Becoming Middle Class

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Abstract

This chapter considers the relationships between migration and middle-class formation. Over the past decade, there has been greater recognition of the magnitude and diversity of internal migration across Africa, with economic growth in many countries leading to an increasing interest in the middle classes. This chapter frames ‘middle class’ as an analytical tool rather than an empirical reality. By doing so, it sets the scene for exploring how the capital of Tigrayan migrants transformed as they moved between urban centres. This framing enables an analysis of how these migrants’ notions of progress, as well as their experiences of higher education and ethnic tensions, made them distinct from others and contributed to the formation of a group that can be described as a middle class in Ethiopia.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    All people referred to in this book have been given pseudonyms.

  2. 2.

    The conversion from Ethiopian birr is based on an exchange rate of US$1 to 0.054 birr (which was the average rate in 2012/2013 when the main part of the research was carried out). The birr has since declined significantly in value and Ethiopia has also experienced high inflation.

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  1. Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Markus Roos Breines

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Breines, M.R. (2021). Introduction. In: Becoming Middle Class. Globalization, Urbanization and Development in Africa . Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3537-3_1

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