Wednesday 22nd April 2026, 12:30 pm AEST or 10:30 am PHT.

New consumers in the global south: Consumption practices and aspirations among the former urban poor of Metro Manila

In the large cities of the Global South, mass consumer culture is no longer the exclusive domain of the wealthy. This seminar offers a transnational examination of how global economic development has transformed consumption, identity, and culture among a group we describe as the former urban poor. The seminar draws on the book New Consumers in the Global South: No Longer Poor, Not Yet Middle Class, which traces the emergence of new consumer cultures across four cities, namely Guangzhou, Metro Manila, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro. We present key findings from our research with consumers in Metro Manila, as well as some reflections on how their aspirations, senses of wellbeing, and socioeconomic mobility are being achieved (or stalled) in comparison to consumers across the other cities of study. In documenting the rise of one of the world's largest and fastest-growing consumer groups, our collaborative research seeks to reorient discussions about consumption and economic development, bringing the cultural dimensions of globalisation to a transregional scale.

About the speakers:

Professor Anna Cristina Pertierra, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney

Anna Cristina Pertierra is Professor in the School of Design, University of Technology Sydney. She is an anthropologist and cultural studies scholar with international expertise in urban ethnography, consumption and material culture, digital media, and popular culture. Regionally, her expertise is in Southeast Asia (Philippines) and Latin America (Cuba and Mexico), with an attention to the connections between these regions.

Professor Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu, Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University

Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu is Professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Dean of the School of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University. Commencing June 2026, she is the incoming Vice President for Higher Education (VPHE) of the Ateneo de Manila University. As an experienced scholar working across academic and applied contexts, her research on knowledge mobilisation in social development, the built environment, and responsible consumption and production aims to promote a problem-solving approach to social science engagement and the intelligent popularisation of social issues.

The ANU Philippines Institute Research Seminar Series is a recurring seminar series that showcases the work of scholars working on political, social and cultural issues in the Philippines and the wider region, with the goal of encouraging greater exchange, collaboration and networking amongst the research community.

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Photo by Aaron Vicencio

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