Establishing Social Equity: Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Abstract

Poverty and inequality are two of the most persistent challenges in developing countries, increasingly proving that concerns for social justice, economic growth, and sustainable development are indivisible and require simultaneous and holistic attention. The high inequality in the Andean states1 is especially challenging because it is reinforced not only by income disparities, but also by ethnic and cultural diversity and geographic obstacles that prevent a high proportion of the population from actively infl uencing social, economic, or political processes. This is apparent from the especially high incidence of poverty among indigenous populations, most of whom reside in rural and mountainous areas.