Structural reforms and the recent macroeconomic context in Peru

Peru suffered from hyperinflation and a deep economic crisis during the 1980s. A first wave of structural reforms took place in the early 1990s. Private investment, including foreign investment, was promoted. New measures to open the country to foreign trade were introduced. And measures to ensure fair market competition were enacted. However, by the second half of the nineties, reform actions decelerated sharply. Notwithstanding, Peru’s macroeconomic performance over the last decade has been the best in over a century. This performance is in part the result of a very favourable external environment, but is also a consequence of a successful combination of sound fiscal policy based on a fiscal responsibility law and monetary credibility. Significant improvements in economic growth, well-being and poverty reduction have been observed since the introduction of reforms in the 1990s, but more reforms are needed to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable path.