This paper studies one instance of successful state reform, the Peruvian tax administration, by looking at the circumstances (economic and political crises of the 1990s) and the factors (strong presidential support, ability of policy elites, favourable reaction from civil society) that made it...

The paper studies a case of deeply embedded group or "horizontal" inequalities, and asks why part of the reason for this persistence of inequality appears to be that even well-intentioned policies that attempt to improve the position of the most disadvantaged often fail to achieve their goals....