In this article written by Merlin Ince, the label "upper-middle income" is critically examined, revealing how it can exacerbate inequalities and present a misleading impression of progress.
Global income categories such as “upper-middle income” often mask deep-seated inequalities, fostering a misleading sense of progress that can justify neglect. Countries like South Africa, Brazil, India, and Nigeria, despite being classified as middle-income, struggle with extreme poverty, high maternal mortality rates, and poor access to education and healthcare.
These classifications, originally designed as statistical tools, now influence access to international aid and political attention. Yet when national averages overshadow local realities, entire populations remain invisible—trapped in poverty despite living in nominally prosperous nations. The danger lies in mistaking economic aggregates for human development. When data distorts rather than reveals suffering, the response too often fails to match the need.
By Merlin Ince
Masking inequality: How upper-middle income can be a justification for neglect
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Merlin Ince, PhD is a sociologist, researcher, and writer whose work focuses on wealth inequality, adolescent and youth wellbeing, and the social consequences of structural exclusion. Growing up as a queer person of colour in apartheid South Africa, Merlin’s thinking is deeply shaped by lived experience of economic injustice, marginalisation, and social stratification. He brings together rigorous research, policy engagement, and narrative inquiry to explore how inequality is produced, justified, and sustained across generations. With over 15 years of experience spanning academia, global health, philanthropy, and multilateral institutions, his work bridges evidence, advocacy, and lived realities. Through narrative fiction, ethnographic writing, and creative non-fiction, Merlin uses storytelling as a critical tool to probe uncomfortable questions, surface hidden assumptions, and push conceptual boundaries, thereby seeking perspectives that remind us of both our deep inequalities and our shared humanity.
