Social classes and living conditions in the Gran Buenos Aires (2003-2013)

The article addresses the differences in living conditions based on the analysis of social class structures in Gran Buenos Aires (GBA) during the period 2003-2013. Specifically, it studies the relation among the position occupied by households in the class structure, the source of income (employment or non-employment), the types of jobs held by the members of each class, and the housing situation. The source of information used for the research project were the microdata bases of the Permanent Household Survey (EPH, according to its acronym in Spanish) of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC, according to its acronym in Spanish). The social classes scheme used was built on the basis of Susana Torrado's Nomenclador de la Condicidn Sociocapacional (Classification of Socio-occupational Status,1992,1998). The general objective of the article is to inquire into the changes and/or continuities in wellbeing conditions during most of the Kirchner period (2003-2013), in the framework of the class structure. Thus, it provides inputs to think about social inequality and, in the longer term, elements to revisit the effects that the socioeconomic model focused on employment had on class structure, particularly, on its composition. The main results show that during the period analyzed there was a greater participation of the working class in the class structure, as well as a recomposition of their monetary income. This led to a decrease in underemployment levels and increase in reported work. Finally, with respect to habitat indicators, the distribution continued to be significantly unequal in terms of class structure. The lowest strata were the most disadvantaged, although there was improvement regarding connection to basic services for marginal and skilled workers.