The Middle Class in the Republic of Moldova: Realities and Perspectives Cover Image

Clasa medie în Republica Moldova: realități și perspective
The Middle Class in the Republic of Moldova: Realities and Perspectives

Author(s): Lubmila Malcoci, Victor Mocanu
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Behaviorism, Economic development
Published by: Editura Eikon
Keywords: stratification; social groups; social classes; middle class;

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the results of the sociological research of the middle class in the Republic of Moldova. Analyzing the concepts of social stratification and middle class, the au-thors argue the methodology of the middle class research in the Republic of Moldova and come with arguments regarding the stratification of the population of the country into several social groups according to occupational status, material welfare and social self-positioning. According to their opinion, the level of education, the socio-occupational status and the level of well-being determine the positioning of individuals in different strata. Thus, the people with higher level of education, occupational status, and welfare, have higher chances to be positioned in the upper groups, and vice versa. Based on the analysis of social classes in the Republic of Moldova, the authors conclude that Moldovan society is very polarized – with a small number of wealthy people at the top of the pyramid and a very large number of poor people at the base of the pyramid. The middle class is not heterogeneous: it is divided into the lower middle class, the core middle class and the upper middle class. The core middle class has similar characteristics with the middle class in Western countries and is characterized by high socio-occupational sta-tus, high level of well-being and self-positioning in the middle class, but unfortunately it is quite low and constitutes only 3%-5% of the population. However, the research is showing that there is a strata ranged from 5% to 30% of population, depending of the parameters they combine, between the lower middle class and the core middle class. This social group, also called proto middle class, in certain circumstances could complement the core middle class.

  • Issue Year: 16/2018
  • Issue No: 03+04
  • Page Range: 67-85
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Romanian