Escobal, J., Saavedra, J. y Torero, M. (1999). Los activos de los pobres en el Perú. Trimestre económico, 66(263)(3), 619-659.

This paper analyzes the possession of and access to assets by the poor in Peru. It finds that over the past ten years the average level of and inequality in access to education has increased and decreased.

Access to other public services also increased, although inequality is still very high. The same is true for access to credit and other collateral assets. The econometric analysis shows a positive effect of tenure and access to public assets on the returns to education and land, evidencing the role of the provision of public services and infrastructure as a mechanism to enhance the profitability of private assets.

It is also observed that changes in asset holdings are not sufficient to explain transitions into and out of poverty, although they are fundamental to explain staying in poverty or staying out of poverty.