Development is something we all aspire to, but also readily criticize for failing to live up to our hopes of sustained improvement in human wellbeing. This book presents findings of systematic research into the contested meanings of development and wellbeing from a country, Peru, which has recently experienced both rapid economic growth and deep social conflict. A mix of ethnographic and questionnaire data from seven poor urban and rural communities straddling the Andes is used to describe and analyze local and global interpretations of their inhabitants' pursuit of wellbeing.

This book presents findings of systematic research into the contested meanings of development and wellbeing from a country, Peru, which has recently experienced both rapid economic growth and deep social conflict.