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Criteria for dividing the middle class
There are usually two criteria for dividing the middle class, one is occupation, and the other is per capita or family income. It is controversial to distinguish the middle class by occupation. As for the staff of state organs, it is obviously difficult for directors and directors to compare with ordinary clerks and clerks. I am afraid that the income and social status gap between the staff of "important" organs such as the industrial and commercial bureau and the tax bureau and the staff of "ordinary" organs such as the Seismological Bureau, the Archives Bureau and the Bureau of Retired Veteran Cadres is also different. As IT technicians, some people may live in villas and drive foreign cars, and some people can only eat instant noodles and squeeze the bus every day. More people, including economists, tend to regard income as the only or main criterion for dividing the middle class. But even if everyone distinguishes who is middle class and who is not, there are still many uncertainties and quantitative confusion. For example, in the United States, some people think that people with an average annual income of $30,000 to $654.38+million belong to the middle class. According to this standard, more than 95% people in the United States should belong to the middle class. Others believe that the average annual income of the American middle class should be between $25,000 and $654.38 million+,and anyone with an average annual income within this range can be regarded as a middle class. By this standard, the American middle class accounts for about 80% of the total population.
In the United States, known as the base camp of the middle class, the standards for distinguishing the middle class are still so confusing, not to mention the rest of the world. Take India as an example. According to the Indian Policy Research Center, there are about 300 million middle classes in India. India's "National Applied Economic Research Council" is the maker and publisher of Indian middle class standards. The Indian middle class standard issued by it is: all families with an average annual after-tax income of 33,750 rupees to 15 rupees (about 700-3,000 US dollars, and the current exchange rate of US dollars to rupees is about 1:48.5) can be regarded as middle class families. According to this calculation, in 200 1 year, 60 million families in India will become middle-class families. For a family of five, there are currently 300 million middle classes in India.
From this perspective, a country's middle class can have as much as you said, because there is no uniform standard and it is very casual. According to the standards of the Indian middle class, if the average annual income of a family is 700 dollars, it can be regarded as a middle class family. According to China's current foreign exchange rate, US$ 700 is equivalent to about 6,000 yuan, which is shared by a family of five, with an annual average of only about 1.000 yuan per person per month. At this level of income, I'm afraid it's even a problem to eat enough in many places in China, let alone "middle class" or "middle class". When the US Department of Commerce announced that India is one of the top ten emerging markets in the world, it said that the middle class in India has reached about 654.38+75 million (almost half less than the estimate of relevant Indian institutions). In the future, everyone in these Indian middle classes will have to buy at least one TV set, a tape recorder, a pressure cooker, a ceiling fan, a bicycle and a watch. Two thirds of them also need to buy mopeds, color TVs, electric irons, food mixers and sewing machines; Less than half of people want to buy refrigerators ... "What a big consumer market this will be!" For others, this is more like American black humor.
In addition, figures show that more than 90% of Singapore's 3 million people belong to the middle class, and the average annual income of Singaporean families is generally above $20,000; South Korea's per capita annual income is about $65,438+0,000, which can be regarded as the middle class. In South Korea, many people don't own houses, and the average debt of Korean workers exceeds $65,438+0,000. According to Malaysia's own estimation, the middle class in Malaysia accounts for about 60% of the total population, about 6,543.8+0.8 million people, and the per capita annual income of these people is about 654.38+0,000 US dollars. It can be seen that the standards are different.
In contrast, in 200 1 year, American research consulting company conducted a survey on the living expenses of the middle class, and compared the living indexes of 22 cities around the world based on the living expenses of an American family of three with an annual salary of $6,543,800. A family of three in Detroit, USA, has an annual income of $654.38 million and a per capita income of more than $33,000. This income level is only the starting level of a middle class in the United States, that is to say, it can only be regarded as a lower middle class in the United States at most, but to reach the living standard of a lower middle class family in Detroit, the United States, it takes 780 thousand Hong Kong dollars a year, about 800 thousand RMB. This is a number that many families in China never dreamed of. It can be seen that he is also a middle class, and this is also a middle class. His middle class cannot be compared with this middle class. Therefore, many scholars, including Professor Qing Lianbin of the Central Party School, believe that there is no so-called middle class in China at this stage. China has a middle class but no "class". Other scholars disagree with the standards of the middle class in China. Some scholars argue that people with an average annual income of 65,438+0,000 to 40,000 RMB in China can be classified as middle class. The average annual income is 654.38+ten thousand yuan. In a city like Beijing and Shanghai, it's probably just enough to make ends meet. It is impossible to buy a house or a car. Private housing and cars are two hard indicators of the middle class. Based on the current housing price level in Beijing, the annual income is 1 1,000 yuan. It will take about 50 years to buy a house with a building area of about 1 1,000 square meters next to the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing without eating or drinking. Confirm that a country's middle class standard can't be divorced from the actual development level of the country, but it can't be raised or lowered at will in order to gain a better external image or please the leaders. In the past 20 years, China has made great progress in economy and social culture, but it is still at a relatively backward level in the world as a whole. According to the research of foreign institutions, until 2000, China's per capita GNP was less than 3/5 of the world average, only higher than the world's high-income countries 14%. According to the actual level of China's economic, social and cultural development, some experts believe that a more reasonable definition of the domestic middle class should be the per capita annual income1~ 50,000 US dollars, that is, about 800,000 ~ 400,000 RMB. Only when the middle class in China reaches this income level can they have "corresponding household consumption capacity", pursue a certain "quality of life" and meet the rigid or soft definition of the middle class. Otherwise, the middle class can only be another synonym for "poverty alleviation" or "food and clothing".
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Criteria for dividing the middle class
There are usually two criteria for dividing the middle class, one is occupation, and the other is per capita or family income. It is controversial to distinguish the middle class by occupation. As for the staff of state organs, it is obviously difficult for directors and directors to compare with ordinary clerks and clerks. I am afraid that the income and social status gap between the staff of "important" organs such as the industrial and commercial bureau and the tax bureau and the staff of "ordinary" organs such as the Seismological Bureau, the Archives Bureau and the Bureau of Retired Veteran Cadres is also different. As IT technicians, some people may live in villas and drive foreign cars, and some people can only eat instant noodles and squeeze the bus every day. More people, including economists, tend to regard income as the only or main criterion for dividing the middle class. But even if everyone distinguishes who is middle class and who is not, there are still many uncertainties and quantitative confusion. For example, in the United States, some people think that people with an average annual income of $30,000 to $654.38+million belong to the middle class. According to this standard, more than 95% people in the United States should belong to the middle class. Others believe that the average annual income of the American middle class should be between $25,000 and $654.38 million+,and anyone with an average annual income within this range can be regarded as a middle class. By this standard, the American middle class accounts for about 80% of the total population.
In the United States, known as the base camp of the middle class, the standards for distinguishing the middle class are still so confusing, not to mention the rest of the world. Take India as an example. According to the Indian Policy Research Center, there are about 300 million middle classes in India. India's "National Applied Economic Research Council" is the maker and publisher of Indian middle class standards. The Indian middle class standard issued by it is: all families with an average annual after-tax income of 33,750 rupees to 15 rupees (about 700-3,000 US dollars, and the current exchange rate of US dollars to rupees is about 1:48.5) can be regarded as middle class families. According to this calculation, in 200 1 year, 60 million families in India will become middle-class families. For a family of five, there are currently 300 million middle classes in India.
From this perspective, a country's middle class can have as much as you said, because there is no uniform standard and it is very casual. According to the standards of the Indian middle class, if the average annual income of a family is 700 dollars, it can be regarded as a middle class family. According to China's current foreign exchange rate, US$ 700 is equivalent to about 6,000 yuan, which is shared by a family of five, with an annual average of only about 1.000 yuan per person per month. At this level of income, I'm afraid it's even a problem to eat enough in many places in China, let alone "middle class" or "middle class". When the US Department of Commerce announced that India is one of the top ten emerging markets in the world, it said that the middle class in India has reached about 654.38+75 million (almost half less than the estimate of relevant Indian institutions). In the future, everyone in these Indian middle classes will have to buy at least one TV set, a tape recorder, a pressure cooker, a ceiling fan, a bicycle and a watch. Two thirds of them also need to buy mopeds, color TVs, electric irons, food mixers and sewing machines; Less than half of people want to buy refrigerators ... "What a big consumer market this will be!" For others, this is more like American black humor.
In addition, figures show that more than 90% of Singapore's 3 million people belong to the middle class, and the average annual income of Singaporean families is generally above $20,000; South Korea's per capita annual income is about $65,438+0,000, which can be regarded as the middle class. In South Korea, many people don't own houses, and the average debt of Korean workers exceeds $65,438+0,000. According to Malaysia's own estimation, the middle class in Malaysia accounts for about 60% of the total population, about 6,543.8+0.8 million people, and the per capita annual income of these people is about 654.38+0,000 US dollars. It can be seen that the standards are different.
In contrast, in 200 1 year, American research consulting company conducted a survey on the living expenses of the middle class, and compared the living indexes of 22 cities around the world based on the living expenses of an American family of three with an annual salary of $6,543,800. A family of three in Detroit, USA, has an annual income of $654.38 million and a per capita income of more than $33,000. This income level is only the starting level of a middle class in the United States, that is to say, it can only be regarded as a lower middle class in the United States at most, but to reach the living standard of a lower middle class family in Detroit, the United States, it takes 780 thousand Hong Kong dollars a year, about 800 thousand RMB. This is a number that many families in China never dreamed of. It can be seen that he is also a middle class, and this is also a middle class. His middle class cannot be compared with this middle class. Therefore, many scholars, including Professor Qing Lianbin of the Central Party School, believe that there is no so-called middle class in China at this stage. China has a middle class but no "class". Other scholars disagree with the standards of the middle class in China. Some scholars argue that people with an average annual income of 65,438+0,000 to 40,000 RMB in China can be classified as middle class. The average annual income is 654.38+ten thousand yuan. In a city like Beijing and Shanghai, it's probably just enough to make ends meet. It is impossible to buy a house or a car. Private housing and cars are two hard indicators of the middle class. Based on the current housing price level in Beijing, the annual income is 1 1,000 yuan. It will take about 50 years to buy a house with a building area of about 1 1,000 square meters next to the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing without eating or drinking. Confirm that a country's middle class standard can't be divorced from the actual development level of the country, but it can't be raised or lowered at will in order to gain a better external image or please the leaders. In the past 20 years, China has made great progress in economy and social culture, but it is still at a relatively backward level in the world as a whole. According to the research of foreign institutions, until 2000, China's per capita GNP was less than 3/5 of the world average, only higher than the world's high-income countries 14%. According to the actual level of China's economic, social and cultural development, some experts believe that a more reasonable definition of the domestic middle class should be the per capita annual income1~ 50,000 US dollars, that is, about 800,000 ~ 400,000 RMB. Only when the middle class in China reaches this income level can they have "corresponding household consumption capacity", pursue a certain "quality of life" and meet the rigid or soft definition of the middle class. Otherwise, the middle class can only be another synonym for "poverty alleviation" or "food and clothing".