Unequal Youth: A Challenge for the Development of the Southern Cone: Executive summary

The future development of the countries of the Southern Cone - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay - depends largely on the interventions made today to improve the prospects of young people. More than half of the 44 million young people between 15 and 24 years old who live in the Southern Cone face challenges such as unemployment, informality, poverty or are not involved in educational or work activities. Inequality between young people according to their income level in several of these indicators is greater in the Southern Cone than in other regions. In a context of insufficient accumulation of human capital and rapid population aging, the contribution of each young person to future growth becomes increasingly important. Furthermore, youth is a crucial period for the accumulation of fundamental skills for adult life, in which key decisions are made for future trajectories. This report shows the need to develop targeted policies to improve education, training, job opportunities and the health of young people - including mental health -, with special emphasis on the most disadvantaged groups, as well as interventions that minimize the incidence of violence and crime in their lives. It also summarizes the evidence on what types of interventions have worked to achieve those goals and which have not. Advancing on this path is not only essential for the well-being of each young person in the region, but also for the development possibilities of the Southern Cone.