Publication

This paper discusses the political sociology of economic liberalization in India by examining the composition of the middle classes in the middle of the first decade of the 21st Century. The author answers the question whether the middle class would support liberalization or some of its policies. After exploring the composition and size of the middle class, the author categorizes economic reform into three broad types of policies: deregulation, macroeconomic stabilization and public sector reform. The paper concludes that due to the growth of the private sector-dominated prosperous and educated middle-class, support for reform will grow, but gradually.