The implementation of SAPs in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in increased levels of poverty and social inequality throughout the Andean region. Although the GDPs of the countries in the region did grow during that period, the standard of living of the majority of their residents deteriorated significantly. This decline was especially notable in the countryside where poverty increased even more than it did in urban areas, resulting in a visible pauperization of the majority of rural producers and rural indigenous producers in particular.