Living in Peru : your everyday companion

THE GOOD:
Peru's economy is still growing, and especially in poor states.

Peru's economy picked up in August after two previous months of deceleration, the country's statistics agency reported this week. Growth was led by internal demand, especially in construction, finance and government spending. Peru's GDP has navigated the economic crisis with a 0.11% expansion from January-August, 2009. (GDP growth in 2008 almost reached 10%; analysts are predicting a 2% growth for 2009.)

A positive trend is that poor and economically isolated regions are seeing significant growth, according to Lima's business daily Gestión. Six states expanded more than 10% from January to June of this year: Puno (15.8%), Ayacucho (14.7%), Madre de Dios (13.9%), Lambayeque (12.6%), Cajamarca (12.5%) and Apurímac (11.6%).

"The majority of the population of Ayacucho, especially those who work in the fields, haven't felt the crisis because they continue being isolated from the national and global economy," Javier Antonio Espíritu, head of Ayacucho's chamber of commerce, told Gestión.

States that have strong ties to manufacturing and the outside economy are the ones hit hardest. Arequipa and Piura, both coastal states, saw their economy decrease 2.9% and 7.7%, respectively, from January to June of 2009, reports Gestión.


THE BAD:
Peru's women and non-whites earn a lot less than their male counterparts, IDB economists show. 

Women, indigenous people and Afro-descendants in Latin America earn significantly less than white men, even when comparing similar levels of education, according to a study released this week by economists at the Inter-American Development Bank. And Peru is one of the leaders in wage gaps.

Women in Peru earn 19.4% less than men with the same age and education, which is the fourth-largest gender wage gap out of the 18-country analysis. Brazil leads with a 29.7% differential.

The gender wage-gap is smallest among younger people with college degrees, and largest for low-income, low-education workers in rural areas.

When comparing the household surveys of seven countries that capture ethnic data, including Peru, the economists found that non-whites earn 28% less than whites when controlling for age, education and gender. In Peru the ethnicity wage gap is 21%.

(Ambitious readers can see the complete brief, "New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America," here in PDF format).

Red tape is holding back business in Peru, a business organization said this week. An average of 70 steps are required before a private or public-private business can begin their project, said CONFIEP, the National Confederation of Private Business Associations, at a press conference.

"These obstacles are given in the government ministries, in the regional governments, in the local governments, in institutions like the INC (National Institute of Culture), in supervising agencies, in health agencies, etc.," CONFIEP's president, Ricardo Briceño (shown here, left), stated, as quoted in Gestión.

The airport in Pisco will begin expanding in 2010 and seeks to be to an alternative to Lima'a Jorge Chávez International Airport, the chief of Aeropuertos del Perú announced on Thursday. The Pisco airport, located 150 miles south of Lima and on the coast, will need $US 45 million for its plans. It will be ready in 2011. Read the full story in Spanish from El Comercio.