Escobal, J., Saavedra, J. y Vakis, R. (2012). ¿Está el piso parejo para los niños en el Perú? Medición y comprensión de la evolución de las oportunidades. Lima: Banco Mundial y GRADE.

This paper applies to the Peruvian case the conceptual framework of equality of opportunity and other indicators to directly measure how opportunities for access to key goods and services are distributed among children. The underlying objective of the research is to bring the evolution and current level of inequality of opportunity into the economic and social debate in Peru, in order to promote discussion of the policies needed to redress such inequality.

It focuses on three themes. First, it seeks to understand how a child’s personal circumstances (the characteristics of his or her parents, ethnicity, gender and place of birth) influence access to goods and services fundamental to his or her well-being, particularly in the areas of health, education and basic housing infrastructure. Second, it examines the evolution of opportunities over the last decade in Peru, a period in which the country has achieved extraordinary rates of economic growth and significant reductions in the level of poverty. Third, it evaluates some of the policies that may have been related to these changes. The objective is to provide guidance on the type of interventions that could enable more equitable access to those goods and services that are key to promoting opportunities among traditionally neglected population groups.