Abstract

BENZA, Gabriela  and  HEREDIA***, Mariana. Inequality from the top: Analysis of Buenos Aires’ highest socioeconomic strata (1980‐2010). Trab. soc. [online]. 2019, n.32, pp.5-23. ISSN 1514-6871.

Even though the analyses of social inequalities assume a relational perspective, most of research on the subject has focused on lower social groups. It is certainly the urgency of state intervention that explains this preference. Nevertheless, understanding and long lasting reversion of social inequalities requires considering not only disadvantaged but also advantaged groupes of existing social order. In dialogue with a new international literature and in order to contribute to the knowledge of Argentina, this paper aims to analyze social inequalities based on a specific inquiry about the most favored sectors in Buenos Aires. To this end, 1) evaluates household surveys as sources for their study; 2) reconstructs the evolution of this stratum between 1980 and 2010 and 3) analyzes certain characteristics of its members. After detailing the inadequacies of the available sources and demonstrating the increase in the participation of this stratum in income from 1980 to 2004 and relative retreat since then as well as the concentration of some attributes in these sectors is revealed: high educational levels, residential segregation, high levels of activity and occupations in medium and large companies’ management.

Keywords : upper class; rich; social stratification; income distribution; inequality.