The Kenyan Middle Class and Responses to Social Security

Title data

Kroeker, Lena:
The Kenyan Middle Class and Responses to Social Security.
In: Boanda-Fuchs, Anthony ; Gez, Yonatan ; Waldmüller, Johannes (ed.): (Re)Searching Nairobi’s Middle Class. - Geneva , 2016 . - pp. 33-44 . - (Kompreno Research Report ; K0001 )

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Abstract in another language

Lena Kroeker looks at the significance of informal social structures within the Kenyan middle class’ search for coping with life challenges and maintaining stable living standards. Considering the middle class through the prism of people’s ability to maintain “the same accommodation, modes of transport and every day practices” (p.33) over long periods of time, Kroeker is conscious of the significance of informal social support network, and especially those linked to kinship. In her contribution, Kroeker combines a survey of available social security mechanisms – of which the state provides little – with an extensive fieldwork in Kisumu, Western Kenya. A comparative perspective might provide complementary insights into the process of middle class formation and thus bring us closer to defining the notion of the middle classes in Kenya.