Protect the middle? Why Southeast Asia should care about a vulnerable class

Recent shocks have exposed how the middle class can fall through the cracks of the region’s safety nets, analysts say

As households across Southeast Asia face rising prices, higher borrowing costs and insecure jobs, analysts say governments should do more to protect a middle class that drives consumer spending but can fall between the cracks of social protection systems designed primarily for poorer households.

The issue has come into sharper focus in the Philippines, where the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) urged the government in September to provide targeted support for the middle class to protect its purchasing power and avoid a drag on economic growth.

Bambang Brodjonegoro, ADBI dean and CEO, said Philippine officials should focus their efforts on the middle class, which made up the bulk of household consumption.

“For the Philippines to revive its economic growth, the attention needs to be on how to increase the purchasing power of the middle class and to not let the middle class shrink,” Brodjonegoro told local media on the sidelines of a forum on September 17.