The Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP) is the oldest social science research center in Peru. It is a private non-profit organization, with no religious or partisan affiliations. Focusing on researching, teaching and disseminating social studies about Peru an other Latin American countries, the Institute aims to contribute to the country’s economic development with equity, the strengthening of its democratic institutions and the development of greater awareness of rich and historical cultural diversity.
The Institute has a close cooperative relationships with various governmental organizations, such as: the Ministry of Education, PROMPERU, Central Bank, National Council for Sciences and Technology, and PETROPERU.
The main study and research areas of the Institute’s member include: democratic governance, macroeconomic analysis as it relates to development, social policies and unemployment, decentralization, regionalization and local government, rural development, ethnic and cultural pluralism, gender, Andean ethno-history, the changes and continuities in State reforms, social and economic history, the history of public health and technology, and the processes of democratization and citizenship.
The Institute’s researchers are organized in four areas: anthropology; sociology and political science; economics; and history. The Institute regularly holds internal seminars for its researchers in order to plan and discuss the various ongoing projects in interdisciplinary terms.