According to an article found in the Wall Street Journal, Low metal prices will have a negative impact on Peru's economy well into 2009. The article explains that the Lima Stock Exchange which is dominated by mining shed 60% in 2008. This is the most significant percentage loss in the region. The decrease in stock price coincided with the problems occurring in the global economy.
The article also explains that recovery will be slow because of the condition of economic growth world-wide. According to Gustavo Urrutia, chief of research at Peruvian brokerage Centura SAB, "In terms of metals prices, I don't think the outlook will change much (Josephs, 2009)." However, the exchange's president asserts that recovery is most likely at the end of 2009. He asserts that "Stronger activity on the exchange will start when the international economy shows some sign of recovering (Josephs, 2009)." The article also reports that
"The exchange's performance over the last two years was a marked contrast to the advances posted the previous year. The Lima Stock Exchange experienced a record high in 2007 and gained 36%, after a 168% surge in 2006. But a plunge in commodities prices midway through 2008 sent the index into a downward spiral. Last January, macroeconomic indicators showed that Peru's breakneck growth would continue in 2008. But lower metal prices and global financial instability, particularly in the fourth quarter, dispelled ideas that Peru was immune to the international crisis. The index lost more than 37% since Sept. 30. The exchange's General Index closed 2008 at 7048.67 (Josephs, 2009)."
Other literature discusses the prevalence of poverty in Peru and the reasons why the recent economic growth in the country has not led to reduced amounts of poverty. For instance, Altamirano et al. (2004) explains that Peru is stuggling to reconcile the rapid economic growth thtat the company has experienced with the poverty that still exist in the country (Altamirano et al., 2004). The article explains that one of the reasons for the disparities between the rich in the poor is that many people in Peru only have skill sets that are consisten with traditional Peruvian jobs (Altamirano et al., 2004). Many of the jobs are either obsolete or they do not offer the type of income that newer jobs offer (Altamirano et al., 2004). Carnoya and. Luschei (2008) explains this clearly. The authors insists that if sustained economic development is to be realized countries and regions must have the capacity to implement new technologies and educate their labor force to use these technologies (Carnoya and. Luschei, 2008). The authors also explain that within the context of the current global economy, which is characterized by factors such as mobility of capital, economic competition, and expanded information and communications portals, there is a unique opportunity for many countries in Latin America including Peru (Carnoya and. Luschei, 2008).
In addition, Zwane (2007) aserts that poverty may have a profound effect on deforestation. The author asserts that
The contention that poverty causes households to degrade the environment has been made in several contexts (e.g., United Nations [63], World Commission on Environment and Development. In the case of deforestation, the story goes, households would like to invest in maintaining the quality of soil on existing cleared land, or increasing yields on this land, but are unable to do so because they cannot finance the necessary investments (Zwane, 2007)."
The deforestation can lead to a host of other problems in Peru. For this reason many studies...
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