Post-Civil War San Salvador: Social Inequalities of Household and Basic Infrastructure in a Central American City

Abstract

Problems of social inequality and poverty remain daunting in post-civil war El Salvador. The challenges of social rebuilding and political democratisation in the capital city of San Salvador inform this paper's analysis of a sample survey on inequalities of household and basic infrastructure. The analysis places San Salvador at the nexus of two comparative-theoretical frameworks: cities, basic infrastructure and world economy; and political economy of livelihoods. For eventual comparison with other Central American cities, the paper uses regression models to depict household configurations of macro-structural and socio-institutional assets with regard to inequalities of selected components of basic infrastructure. The discussion explores implications for Salvadoran post-civil war social reconstruction as well as for comparative research on Central American cities.