‘We are (the) Middle Class’ The new Turkish middle class: identification, behaviors and expectations

Abstract. This article aims to identify and characterise the Turkish middle class. Our objective is to improve its description by implementing a clustering method combining an economic and a sociological approach. Using the Income and Living Conditions Survey (2014), we first identify the middle-class on the basis of an income interval. We then use information about employment and education to characterise the heterogeneity of this middle-income class. The distinctive behaviors and aspirations of four middle class groups are explored in depth by using the results of original qualitative field research carried out among middle class households from two contrasting regions.Keywords. Social stratification, Income distribution, Middle class, Turkey, Clustering methods.JEL. O15, D13, E25