Consequences of structural adjustment on economic and social domains: Two decades in the life of Peru

This article examines the impact of structural adjustment in Peru by asking what seems to be a simple question: did the situation of small producers improve following implementation of structural adjustment measures? Though improvement is seen as economic growth, the criteria used to determine that are not uniform. This study focuses on a comprehensive set of indicators of production, diffusion of the cash economy, and revenue, exploring trends among different types of producers, classified according to what they produce and how the production is organized. It focuses on the period 1980 to 2000 and, whenever possible, presents data from 1970 for comparison purposes. The authors conclude that the key is not so much integrating agricultural producers into the market or opening rural markets but rather improving the conditions under which small producers and subsistence farmers become integrated into the market, which will require a deep understanding of how the production system of the rural poor functions.