It has been reported that Nigeria middle class is growing.

Survey: Nigeria's Middle Class Growing
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/survey-nigerias-middle-class-growing/99455/


Nigeria records economic growth, as GDP hits $247 billion
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62515:-nigeria-records-economic-growth-as-gdp-hits-247-billion&catid=31:business&Itemid=562

Have you as an individual witnessed any sort of growth in your finances/business. Have your earnings increased over the past five years,  2006 - 2011 for instance?


Honest poll appreciated pls.

The Renaissance Capital survey was conducted with 1,004 middle-class Nigerians, residing in the cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, 70 per cent of whom were aged 40 or younger.

The survey made various findings on Nigeria’s middle class. Among them were the following: Average monthly income is in the range of N75,000 - 100,000 ($480-645, or roughly $6,000-7,000 pa).

A survey of 1,004 out of 150,000,000 possible Nigerians is DEFINITELY NOT a survey especially when it involves economic figures!
It is highly lugubrious that this kind of mis-information can be published by a finance house.

If $7,000 per annum constitutes the middle class then what is poverty?

Economic Classification should be based on livelihood not just income! if a person receives $7000 and spends $6500 providing amenities that should have been provided by the government, he or she has only effectively earned $500.

GDP measures the total cost of providing all the value produced in a country and is not a reliable yard-stick for measuring economic success.
GDP figures are greatly influenced by the stock market which does not produce any tangible value. By simply increasing the money value of stocks in a country, the GDP will increase whereas in reality no real value has been produced and no one's life (except possibly the 0.1% that own appreciable stocks) is better.

IMF and the World Bank cannot boast of making life better in any developing economy, the only people that benefit from them are the individual corporations (not even their host countries) that facilitate their loans.

All the countries that followed an IMF road-map are currently in serious economic trouble - Indonesia, Malaysia et cetera while the ones that rejected them in favour of building around their local economy are prospering - Brazil, India.

I wonder why developing nations are still listening to them!

logic1:
A survey of 1,004 out of 150,000,000 possible Nigerians is DEFINITELY NOT a survey especially when it involves economic figures!
It is highly lugubrious that this kind of mis-information can be published by a finance house.

If the participants in the survey were chosed randomly, then 1000 participants would be more than enough.
If the respondents were not chosen randomly, even 1 million participants won't give you an accurate answer.

@seun
If the population is homogenous then you can take 1000 out of 150 million and be fine.

If it was a biological survey, it may have some veracity.

An economic survey however is another kettle of fish!

The Nigerian populace is DEFINITELY not economically homogenous. In reality it is extremely skewed therefore this kind of sampling fails miserably.

I had a feeling someone would raise an issue about methods of survey but has anyone bothered to question modern methods of statistical analysis?

It should be well known by now that 2 conflicting views can be advanced by the same statistical data if one uses different statistical variables.

Another point to note is that most people think that if the total output increases then everyone is better for it forgetting that there are 3 measures of central tendencies the mean, median and mode of the distribution and even though the mean may increase with the total the median and mode do not necessarily increase.

e.g.
Case A: if 100 people make 1 naira, 2 people make 2 naira and 1 person makes 5 naira then total output = 109
Case B: if 102 people make 1 naira and 1 person makes 8 naira then total output = 110

from case A to case B, GDP has improved, but more people are poorer!

@seun
Do some research on Monte Carlo Methods in statistics and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

You can also read nicholas taleb's book "Fooled By Randomness"

Seun:

If the participants in the survey were chosed randomly, then 1000 participants would be more than enough.
If the respondents were not chosen randomly, even 1 million participants won't give you an accurate answer.

I agree with Seun on this. Besides, the location chosen for the survey are places you will most likely find the largest collection of middle class people - Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. And most survey conductors are professional enough to understand the essence of randomness in any survey. Unless there is substantial evidence, I am inclined to agree with the survey. The few people that have also voted in this poll, also corroborate the fact that the middle class is indeed growing.

The Renaissance Capital survey was conducted with 1,004 middle-class Nigerians, residing in the cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, 70 per cent of whom were aged 40 or younger.


“The Nigerian middle class we surveyed has a monthly income of some $500-600 and nearly half will be buying fridges, freezers and other white goods, suggesting a consumer boom is under way,” said Charles Robertson. “We cite the upside for consumer lending retail, white-goods retail, lifestyle and leisure, housing development and home improvement.”


The survey made various findings on Nigeria’s middle class. Among them were the following: Average monthly income is in the range of N75,000 - 100,000 ($480-645, or roughly $6,000-7,000 pa).

@pointB
The questions on this poll are too subjective for us to come to any reasonable conclusion sir.

If you asked people a series of questions ranging from their income to what they spend, save and invest then we'd have a shot at having realistic answers.

This is an OPINION poll not a survey!

Think about it critically, one cannot call himself Middle Class he or she earns $7000 in Nigeria because most of the $7000 will be spent providing amenities that are provided by the government in other societies.

The Drum Major Institute, places the range for middle class at individuals making between $25,000 and $100,000 a year.
and that's in the US where many amenities are provided by the government!

yet RenCap calls people earning $7000 in Nigeria middle class!

On the issue of randomness!
Random sampling only gives usable results when the variables being considered are extremely few. e.g. when doing a biological survey (the variations between the biological make up of human beings are very little - we're pretty much the same that's why drugs work for most people)

However, in the case of economic surveys, random sampling will not yield usable results because the economic variations in the human populace are almost infinite!

Economic indices are based on hard facts from a large percentage of the sample space.
This is why economic indices usually come from government agencies like the department of labor who compute them from facts gathered from everyone registered with them!

That's why Opinion Polls that rely on random sampling MUST NOT be used for reliable economic indices.
In fact Random Sampling SHOULD NOT be used for computing economic indices.

logic1:

Think about it critically, one cannot call himself Middle Class he or she earns $7000 in Nigeria because most of the $7000 will be spent providing amenities that are provided by the government in other societies.

The Drum Major Institute, places the range for middle class at individuals making between $25,000 and $100,000 a year.
and that's in the US where many amenities are provided by the government!

yet RenCap calls people earning $7000 in Nigeria middle class!

Middle class is a relative term, not an absolute one. In the past having barn full of yam, 10 cattles grazing on the field, etc may may place on in the range of middle class. While that may not count for much now.

If there is any truth in the frequently bandied around statement that over 70% of Nigerians live on less than $2 a day, therefore anyone who can afford a car, plan to buy one, send children to private schools, holidays abroad, etc is certainly a member of the middle class.

In other words, the term middle class in any society is relative to what the majority in that society are earning/spending.

Ok, in that case you are right.

I was using the term to refer to a certain income median between the highest and lowest income earners which guarantees a pretty good life.
that's the way it's used when people say the american middle class was created by the introduction of managerial capitalism pioneered by Henry Ford and established by Alfred Sloan, and that's the way it's used when people talk of the obliteration of the middle class or the fact that the middle class is shrinking or non-existent.

at any rate if members of the middle class in your own words can "afford a car, plan to buy one, send children to private schools, holidays abroad" then $7000 dollars is nowhere near the middle class income, at least not in Lagos, Abuja or Port-Harcourt.

And if the middle class is what you say it is then RenCap's survey is seriously flawed because by saying the middle class is growing, they are referring to the people who earn between $6000 and $7000 not people who can send their children to private schools or holidays abroad!

logic1:

at any rate if members of the middle class in your own words can "afford a car, plan to buy one, send children to private schools, holidays abroad" then $7000 dollars is nowhere near the middle class income, at least not in Lagos, Abuja or Port-Harcourt.

And if the middle class is what you say it is then RenCap's survey is seriously flawed because by saying the middle class is growing, they are referring to the people who earn between $6000 and $7000 not people who can send their children to private schools or holidays abroad!

In a country where government (largest single employer of labour) find it difficult to pay a minimum wage of N18,000 ($116) a month to its teeming working population, you will certainly agree with you dont need RenCap to tell you that the man who earns between N75,000 - 100,000 ($480-645, or roughly $6,000-7,000 pa) is indeed a king.

Besides, I wonder why it is hard for you to accept that at $6,000-7,000 p/annum, one can still afford to buy a pretty modest car!

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!

That the one-eyed man is king does not mean he is no more one-eyed!

If you reside in Nigeria then you'll know that a family man who earns N100,000 in Lagos will definitely be struggling to meet basic needs.

On the issue of minimum wage:
The problem is not that the minimum is N18,000.
What most people don't realize is that when the minimum wage is increased, the[b] highest remuneration (maximum wage)[/b] is also increased commensurately!

The highest remunerations include those of the ministers who already earn too much!

If instead of doing a simple increase, NLC agrees to a wage increase such that higher remunerations remain the same and all the wages lower than 18000 are increased to 18000 it will be easier for the various governments to pay.