The New Middle Class and the Joys of Suburbia

The new middle class in emerging markets: How values and demographics influence discretionary consumption

“…The Iceberg Model also argues for defining the middle‐class consumers in terms of their education , occupation , and ownership of assets . New middle‐class individuals tend to have a university degree and prefer to send their children to private schools (Ayata, ; Balkan & Oncu, ; Keyder, ; Kravets & Sandikci, ; Rutz & Balkan, ). They are also likely to be white‐collar professionals (Erdem, ; Erkal et al, ; Karademir, ; Simsek, ).…”

“…Discretionary consumption and education : As the new middle class is better educated than other classes (Ayata, ; Balkan & Oncu, ; Keyder, ; Kravets & Sandikci, ; Rutz & Balkan, ), educational background may influence discretionary consumption. It is safe to assume that those with higher educational achievement tend to have a broader consumption portfolio and have greater means to afford it.…”

“…Consumerist values and education : Education is an important indicator of the new middle class (Ayata, ; Balkan & Oncu, ; Keyder, ; Kravets & Sandikci, ; Rutz & Balkan, ). The new middle‐class members tend to be more educated than other groups and enjoy greater discretionary consumption.…”

“…The structure of the new middle class in Turkey has altered along with its spread to central Anatolia (Keyman, ), along with the big cities of Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir. The new middle class in Turkey is similar to others in the world; they are generally urbanite, well‐educated, white‐collar professionals who own a number of assets and are highly engaged in consumption (Ayata, ; Balkan & Oncu, ; Erdem, ; Erkal, Baloglu, & Baloglu, ; Ipsos KMG, ; Karademir, ; Keyman, ; Kravets & Sandikci, ; Simsek, ; Turkishtime Magazine, ). What sets them apart from other emerging markets is that the new Turkish middle class possesses both secular and conservative elements (Balkan & Oncu, ; Karademir, ; Kravets & Sandikci, ; Sandikci & Ger, ; Ustuner & Holt, ) and are mainly conservative in religious terms (Erdem, ; Ipsos KMG, ; Keyman, ; Turkishtime Magazine, ; Yılmaz, ).…”

“…The literature on the middle class is increasingly more prevalent. Sociological works include: Arslan, ; Ayata, ; Balkan & Oncu, ; Bourdieu, ; Erdem, ; Goldthorpe, ; Harvey, ; Karademir, ; Karpat, ; Keyder, , ; Keyman, , , ; Kiray, ; Kongar, ; Marx, ; Mills, ; Rutz & Balkan, ; Savage et al, ; Warner, Meeker, & Eells, ; Weber, and economic works include (Azevedo & Atamanov, ; Banerjee & Duflo, ; Birdsall, , , ; Birdsall, Graham, & Pettinato, ; Easterly, ; Foroohar & Margolis, ; Kharas, ; Kharas & Gertz, ; Lopez‐Calva, Rigolini, & Torche, ; Milanovic & Yitzhaki, ; Ravallion, ; Ward & Neumann, ). Works representing marketing or business perspectives are relatively limited: Martineau, , 1958; Rich & Jain, ; Cunningham, Russell, & Cunningham, ; Griffin & Sturdivant, ; Coleman, ; Oluc, ; Williams, ; Sandikci & Ger, ; Yılmaz, ; Ustuner & Holt, ; Ipsos KMG, ; Euromonitor, ; Turkishtime Magazine, ; Cavusgil, ; Cavusgil & Kardes, , ; Gao, ; Kravets & Sandikci, ; Gouvea, Kapelianis, & Montoya, ; and Uner & Gungordu, .…”