?Peru Does Not Have the Growth Rate Needed to Lift More People Out of Poverty?

Por ana bjerde

Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, spoke exclusively with El Comercio from the APEC CEO Summit Peru 2024 about the major challenges facing the region, such as poverty and rising public debt levels. She highlighted the role of Peru?s Central Bank in fighting inflation and noted that Peru still stands out for its macroeconomic strength.

? Do you believe we will return to pre-pandemic poverty levels soon?

The increase in poverty is a very significant concern for us at the World Bank. This is something we work on, reflect on, and address every day. It is very much as you say, that many countries that had actually been able to really reduce poverty quite drastically over a number of decades, have started seeing poverty come back. And it did, in fact, get a lot worse with COVID-19.

?At global, regional, and local levels.

One ongoing problem is that growth levels are still too low to recover what was lost during the COVID-19 years. So at first, a very difficult factor is that we have a low growth rate around the world in Latin America. And I would say, Peru also does not have the growth rate it needs to lift more people out of poverty. A second problem we see is also a result of the pandemic. Another issue is that many children dropped out of school during the COVID-19 years.

? Rising inflation has played a key role in the increase in poverty in the region. What strategies should we adopt in Latin America to prevent inflation from significantly worsening these indicators, or to avoid making the already poor even poorer?

Inflation definitely affects those who have the least. What we?ve seen in recent years is a collective global action by institutions like central banks to try to control inflation. And I believe that Peru offers a fairly positive experience in this area, as the Central Bank has taken the right measures and actions.

?Our central bank has been globally recognized for the work it has been doing.

Central banks can make the monetary policy decisions they deem necessary without interference, and that is essential. One conclusion I have after these days in Peru is that the country still has quite solid macroeconomic fundamentals, and this is a source of strength and resilience.