Middle Class Challenges and Contested Futures in the USA and South Korea

This book examines central challenges facing the middle class in the United States and South Korea. The US is the archetype of a liberal market economy with minimal state intervention, while South Korea exemplifies the developmental state, characterized by extensive state involvement in the economy and rapid industrialization and economic growth. Despite their distinct paths to post-industrial economies, the middle class in both nations has experienced labor market instability and widening economic inequality due to neoliberal political-economic labor market policies coupled with inadequate social protections. This book discusses macro-social changes and transformation of the middle class in the two countries, and their consequences for economic inequality, education, and family. It also presents policy ideas for revitalizing the middle class in both countries.