Inequality of opportunity in Peru: four studies.

Summary This thesis addresses the theme of inequality of opportunity in Peru through four analyses. The first one tries to find out if the considerable development of education, which characterizes Peru since the beginning of the 20th century, has translated into an equalization of opportunities in access to education. It shows that the inequality of educational opportunities has remained the same during the 20th century, except for women in rural areas who have experienced a relative democratization in access to education. The second analysis looks at inequality of opportunity in the Lima labor market by testing whether two individuals working in the same occupation at a given time have the same chances of career advancement. It appears that social origin is a determining factor in the evolution of the professional career, once its influence on the previous stages of the life cycle has been taken into account. The third analysis deals with inequality of opportunity in access to higher education. It proposes a model explaining the simultaneous and non-exclusive choice to enter higher education and to work, by introducing several channels of intergenerational transmission of inequalities. This model allows testing a public policy aimed at increasing equality of opportunity in Peru by improving access to student jobs. The last analysis aims to understand how Limenians' perception of inequality of opportunity in Peru is formed, based on qualitative interviews. It studies the role played by individual mobility in the formation of this perception, measuring mobility using objective and subjective indicators.