Perceptions of social class in Africa after Covid-19

This study will investigate determinants of perceptions of socio-economic class in Kenya. To do so, we plan to implement a conjoint experiment that will assess the relevance of alternative socio-economic dimensions of class in African societies. Conjoint experiments are well suited for identifying the salience of individual attributes in people’s perceptions of complex multi-dimensional phenomena like class. To our knowledge, we are the first to apply this technique to this research area in Africa or elsewhere. The experiment will compare income-based with socio-economic indicators of class (e.g. education, occupation). It will also explore the effect of experiences of economic insecurity on perceptions of class status.