Moving to retain class status : Spatial mobility of older people in Kenya

Titelangaben

Kroeker, Lena:
Moving to retain class status : Spatial mobility of older people in Kenya.
In: Africa Today. Bd. 66 (2020) Heft 3&4 . - S. 137-158.
ISSN 1527-1978

Volltext

Format: PDF Name: PROOF Kroeker 2020 Moving to retain Class Status. Spatial Mobility among older Middle Class in Kenya.pdf Version: Angenommene Version Verfügbar mit der Lizenz Deutsches Urheberrechtsgesetz. Das Dokument darf zum eigenen Gebrauch kostenfrei genutzt werden. Darüber hinaus bedürfen die Vervielfältigung, Bearbeitung, Verbreitung und jede Art der Verwertung der schriftlichen Zustimmung des jeweiligen Rechteinhabers.

Download (636kB)

Abstract

Recent scholarship on the African middle classes focuses on a middle-aged cohort and generally assumes that social status remains stable over the life course. This contribution argues that a struggle to retain one’s social class across the life course is part of middle-class life in Kenya. I focus on those who currently lead a decent life in the city and prepare for their life after retirement. My ethnographic data suggest that the middle classes cannot afford life in the city once there is no regular income. I argue that entitlements and resources need to be saved and invested during an economically productive phase to lead a decent life after retirement outside the cities.