Paper short abstract:

This paper argues a large and prosperous group operates in Benin's informal sector. Actors included in the middle class have been critical to stability in an environment of clientelism, informality, and semi-authoritarian rule.

Paper long abstract:

The African Development Bank in an important paper assessing the middle class in Africa presents data that show Benin to have relatively small middle class of approximately 10 percent of the population. This paper argues that these data fail to capture a large and prosperous group that operates in the informal sector. It proposes that the middle class in Benin is much larger than captured in the data. It is evident, that actors who would be included in the middle class have been to stability for a state that operates in an environment of clientelism, informality, and semi-authoritarian rule. This middle class is an outcome of historic arrangements and contemporary changes in the regional political economy.