Social Class and Global Inequality - Essay Example

Poverty Peru is considered as a country that yields middle-income yet it has a growing GDP. According to the statistics of government, less than one third of the entire population lives below the poverty line compared with nearly half in 2000s. However, 8 million people are still surviving below this line. Poverty is severe among people living in remote rural areas. The rural poverty across the country is over 50%, having 20% population as extremely poor. Lack of earning opportunities in rural areas has results in huge migration of people to urban areas where market activities offers opportunities for better livelihood (Rural Poverty Portal).

Social Stratification Generally, Peru has been organized into three major social classes. The upper class consists of nearly 3% of the entire population and is primarily minority. They are predominantly found in Lima. The middle class are salaried people consisting of professionals and workers. They form about 60% of the total population. This social class of Peru suffered the most when the financial crisis hit the global economy in recent years. The lower class consists of campesinos (farmers, rural people) and workers.

The workers dwell in cities especially in shantytowns. Most of these workers are campesinos, which migrated from their community to urban areas. The campesinos residing in community, place huge important to their religion and culture. In north, local languages have disappeared completely. The rural areas remain untouched from many communities and tribes and thus, have diminutive contact with outside world. Dual Labor Market Labor market of Peru has shown positive increase in terms of productivity and wages.

The increased wages in Peru, particularly from 1994 to 1999 reflect the growing rate of return to labor having skills and adequate human capital for changing economy. Wages rose for white-collar workers by 6% in the period of 1994 to 1999 however in the same period decline for 17% for blue-collar workers. Consequently, the gap between white collar and blue-collar workers widened. These statistics remained consistent with several studies. In Peru, the demand and supply models of labor markets refers it to as ‘dual labor market structure’ (Peru Selected Issues, 2001).

Life Chances Life chances refer to possible opportunities that an individual has for improving his or her quality of life. All social classes of Peru are doing better than before. Many are buying bigger, better, new homes having nicer neighborhoods. No Caribbean or Latin America economy has grew more than the economy of Peru, which showed an annual increase in GDP of around 5.75%. The country invested around $1.3 billion in establishing 45 new shopping malls. Despite of that, the country is in a desperate need of investing in its educational systems.

The educational system of Peru is considered as worst in the Latin America. It goes with health care facilities also. Social Mobility The primary factor that seems to increase the social mobility of youngsters in Peru is Education. According to Rojas, (2013), “Young people value education above all for its relevance to their future, and its potential to help them achieve more in their lives.” According to research, boys residing in rural areas intend to support their families. It impinges the time they have for studying but they also recognize that working helps in contributing to family income and helps them is acquiring useful skills.

The study further revealed that views of young people