Government policy and employment of persons with disabilities in Peru

This chapter studies the employment policies for persons with disabilities in Peru and their results in terms of improving labor market conditions. It discusses the most important policy instruments employed by the Peruvian state to reach that goal and analyzes their effectiveness. These policy instruments include employment services, training and other labor programs, financial supports, quota systems, and antidiscrimination measures. Although lack of information is a pervasive problem, there are some areas of progress, but even more areas in which adjustments are needed. The chapter describes two policies that seem to be relatively effective in terms of improving labor market conditions for persons with disabilities: participation in general workfare programs such as Construyendo Perú and the preferential treatment of promotional enterprises that provide good and services to the state. Although Peru is the focus of this chapter, its lessons may be useful for understanding the case of societies with similar levels of economic and political development in Latin America.