Katerin Aracely Lugmaña-Vasquez, Ximena Marisol Pastuña-Pastuña, Diego Marcelo Lara-Haro
Poverty remains one of the main socioeconomic challenges, despite the progress achieved in recent years. This study analyzes the impact of economic growth, public expenditure, and social expenditure on poverty reduction in the countries of the Andean Community of Nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) during the period 2000–2024. A quantitative approach is employed using a Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) model, which makes it possible to identify the dynamic relationships and lagged effects among poverty, gross domestic product, public expenditure, and social expenditure, incorporating a dummy variable associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test is applied to compare differences in poverty levels according to economic growth and social expenditure among the countries analyzed. The results show a high persistence of poverty and demonstrate that economic growth and social expenditure contribute significantly to its reduction through lagged effects. In conclusion, the sustainable reduction of poverty depends mainly on the orientation and effectiveness of social expenditure.