It’s really a shame this should be a headline in Peru’s newspaper of record, El Comercio.
“Economists: continued growth is not possible unless poverty is reduced”.
Just saying, that one is right up there with “the sky is blue” and “Bill Gates not hurting for money this week”.
But such is the dilemma that is Peru: for the suits in Lima economic growth has long been detached from quality of life for ordinary Peruvians, especially in the provinces. Take for example this chart from official INEI statistics, during a period where GDP grew at a 9% annual clip.
Chullo tip to IKN.
Now I’m not pretending to have an easy solution for the quality of life issues in Peru, but hopefully some of the suits in Lima will start to seriously look beyond the neo-liberal dogma that “what’s good for business is good for everyone”.
I’ll propose a new ideology for economists in Peru: “do what’s good for the people and economic growth will follow”.
- Stimulate the economy in the provinces
- Improve the infrastructure in Lima’s slums and in the provinces
- Respect labor and environmental protections
- Reduce bureaucracy and hold the bureaucrats accountable
- ….
The economy in Peru is too dependent on tourism and export of base metals. While those are great sources of revenue, the suits who run Peru should look at adding technology, manufacturing and quality services, the types of employment that would raise the standard of living of the average Peruvian worker.
At the end of the day, the Peruvian economy is the total of what the average Peruvian worker contributes to it, and expects to receive from it. Not in monetary “funny printed paper” terms, but in terms of products and services. It’s a no-brainer, focus on the quality of life of ordinary Peruvians and economic growth must follow.
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