The assets of the poor in Peru

Abstract

The document analyzes the possession and access to assets on the part of the poor in Peru. It is found that during the last ten years the average level of access to education increased while and inequality of access to this asset decreased. The access to other public services has also increased, though the inequality levels are still very high. The same happens with the access to credit and other assets that can serve as collateral. The econometric analysis shows a positive effect of the access to public assets on the profitability of key private assets like education and land, evidencing the role of the provision of public services and infrastructure as a mechanism for boosting the profitability of private assets. It is also found that changes in assets tenure are not sufficient to explain transitions toward and outside poverty, though they are crucial to explain the permanency in poverty or the permanency out of this state.