the group described as developed middle class and above encompasses workers in developing countries who are equivalent to the lower end of the middle class in the united states and who are able to afford most international consumer goods kapsos and bourmpoula based on the data presented there is little evidence of a large or substantial employed middle class in the ldcs which may have negative implications for wider economic growth investment and employment generation however other evidence suggests that in subsaharan africa and asia over the past years the middle class has been growing quite rapidly african development bank ravallion a the odc sample comprises developing countries