Youth at Risk in Latin America and the Caribbean

Understanding the Causes, Realizing the Potential

Wendy Cunningham, Linda McGinnis, Rodrigo Garcia Verdu, Cornelia Tesliuc, Dorte Verner

• Publisher: World Bank Publications
• Year: 2008
• eBook ISBN: 9780821375211
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Educational Policy

Realizing the potential of young people in Latin America and the Caribbean is essential both to their well-being and to the region's long-term welfare. Young people are often seen as the source of problems that plague the area, namely rising levels of crime and violence, unemployment, and drug use. However, there is little understanding of the problems young people face, the reasons that some engage in risky behaviors, and how best to support the most vulnerable. Youth at Risk in Latin America and the Caribbean attempts to fill this knowledge gap by identifying at-risk youth and providing policy makers with evidence-based guidance that will make their countries' investments in young people more effective. The authors find that more than half the region's young people can be considered "at risk" of engaging in negative behaviors, which each year reduce regional economic growth by up to 2 percent. They also confirm that the causes of risky behavior in developed countries—weak relationships with schools and family, poor self esteem, household poverty, negative gender norms, and misguided laws—are also relevant in Latin America and the Caribbean. Based on this analysis, the authors describe 23 policies and programs that experts agree are the foundation of a successful youth development portfolio, ranging from early childhood development programs to parent training to cash transfers granted in exchange for positive behaviors. It also lays out strategies for implementing such a portfolio in a budget-constrained environment. This book will be of great interest to those working in the areas of social analysis and policy, social development and protection, and poverty reduction.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Overview Why Do Young People Deserve Special Attention?
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Section I Laying the Groundwork
• Chapter 2 Motivations for Focusing on At-Risk Youth
• Chapter 3 A Conceptual Framework and Its Application for Policy Making
• Chapter 4 Identifying At-Risk Youth for Better Programming and Targeting
• Section II Informing Policy by Understanding the Trends and Causes of Risky Behavior in LAC
• Chapter 5 Understanding the Nature and the Magnitude of Risky Behavior
• Chapter 6 Identifying the Factors That Put Youth at Risk
• Section III Helping Young People Make Good Choices: Programming, Policy, and Implementation
• Chapter 7 Principles for Building an Effective Portfolio for Youth at Risk
• Chapter 8 Prioritizing What Works
• Chapter 9 Moving From a Wish List to Action
• Chapter 10 Investing in Youth in LAC: Key Messages and Conclusions
• Appendix A Population in LAC by Age and Sex
• Appendix B Methodology for Estimating the Cost of Negative Youth Behavior
• Appendix C Methodology for Devising the Typology of At-Risk Youth
• Appendix D Measuring Youth Outcomes
• Appendix E Estimated Taxpayer Costs and Crime-Reduction Benefits of 16 Crime Prevention Programs
• Appendix F Sources of Information for Evaluated Programs
• References
• Index
• Box 4.1 Methodology for Creating a Typology of Youth at Risk in LAC
• Box 4.2 Co-Occurrence of School Dropout and Other Risky Behavior
• Box 5.1 Characteristics of Young Parents and Their Children in the United States
• Box 5.2 Pandillas in Nicaragua
• Box 5.3 When You Are a Marero
• Box 6.1 Methodology for Identifying Risk and Protective Factors That Are Correlated with Risky Youth Behavior
• Box 6.2 Lives of Juvenile Delinquents in Brazil
• Box 8.1 Methodology for Developing a Policy Toolkit for LAC Youth at Risk
• Box 8.2 Second-Chance Education in the Dominican Republic
• Box 8.3 The Impact of the Jóvenes Model
• Box 8.4 Individual Learning Accounts in Colombia and Mexico
• Box 8.5 Brazil’s Open Schools
• Box 8.6 Youth Service in the United States and Jamaica
• Box 8.7 Evaluating the Impact of Mentoring Programs in the United States
• Box 8.8 Employment Services in Argentina and Venezuela
• Box 8.9 The Dominican Republic’s Mi Barrio Seguro Program
• Box 8.10 Banning Firearms in Colombia
• Box 8.11 Alcohol Restrictions and Reduced Violence in São Paulo, Brazil
• Box 8.12 Social Marketing of Condoms: The Experience of DKT do Brasil
• Box 9.1 The Alternatives to Get-Tough Strategies
• Box 9.2 Evaluations of Outcomes Are a Fundamental Part of At-Risk Youth Programs
• Box 9.3 Addressing Youth at Risk at the Municipal Level
• Figure 1.1 Share of Each Age Group That Leaves School or Starts Work (Mexico)
• Figure 1.2 Share of Each Age Group Initiating Their Sexual Lives (Haiti)
• Figure 1.3 Share of Each Age Group That Begins Smoking (Chile)
• Figure 1.4 Distribution by Age of Those Arrested for Criminal/Violent Activity (Jamaica)
• Figure 2.1 LAC Youth Population (15–24 Years) in Absolute Numbers and Share, 1950–2050
• Figure 2.2 LAC Male and Female Populations by Age Group, 2005 and 2025
• Figure 2.3 Changes in the Classically Shaped Population Pyramids
• Figure 2.4 Opening and Closing Demographic Windows of Opportunity
• Figure 2.5 Trends in Adolescent Fertility Rates
• Figure 2.6 Out-of-Pocket Costs of School Attendance in Bolivia and Mexico, as a share of household income
• Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework for Youth at Risk: Link between Risk Factors, Risky Behavior, and Negative Youth Outcomes
• Figure 3.2 Conceptual Framework for Youth at Risk: Policy Application
• Figure 4.1 Shares of the Population in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico by Level of Risk
• Figure 4.2. Characterization of LAC Youth with Different Levels of Risk
• Figure 5.1 Percentage of Secondary School-Age Children Who Are Not Enrolled in Secondary School
• Figure 5.2 Percentage of Primary School-Age Children Who Are Not Enrolled in Primary School
• Figure 5.3 Schooling Attainment for Ages 15–19 in LAC, Circa 2000
• Figure 5.4 Average Years of Schooling in LAC Countries Compared with Southeast Asia, 1960–2000
• Figure 5.5 Percentage of the Population 25 Years and Older Who Have At Least Some Schooling at Each Education Level, 2000
• Figure 5.6 Average Score in the Mathematics Scale in PISA 2003 and GDP Per Capita (purchasing power parity adjusted) in 2003
• Figure 5.7 Average PISA Scores by Country and by Household Poverty Level, 2003
• Figure 5.8 Share of Young Peruvians at Each Age Who Are Full-Time Students
• Figure 5.9 Ratio of Youth to Total Unemployment Rates in Select LAC Countries
• Figure 5.10 Duration of Unemployment
• Figure 5.11 Jobless Rates in LAC Disaggregated by Unemployment and Inactivity Rates for 19–24-Year-Olds
• Figure 5.12 Rates of Joblessness (Latest Year Available)
• Figure 5.13 Share of Each Age Group That Becomes Jobless
• Figure 5.14 Share of Poor and Nonpoor Groups in Self-, Unpaid, Informal Salaried, and Formal Salaried Employment
• Figure 5.15 Percentage of Females (Ages 25–29) Who Had Sex by the Age of 15
• Figure 5.16 Teen Fertility Rates per 100,000 Girls Ages 15–19 in LAC and Select Industrial Countries, 2000
• Figure 5.17 Birthrates for Teenagers in LAC, 1980–2000
• Figure 5.18 Median Age at Time of First Birth among Women, by Rural Area and Education Level
• Figure 5.19 HIV Prevalence among Youth
• Figure 5.20 Distribution of People Arrested for Murder and Major Crimes by Age Group, Jamaica, 2004
• Figure 5.21 Tobacco Use by Youth
• Figure 5.22a Cannabis Use among Teenagers in Chile and Colombia
• Figure 5.22b Use of Various Drugs by Students 10–18 Years Old in 10 Brazilian Capital Cities
• Figure 6.1 Percentage of 17-Year-Old Girls Who Are Not in School by Number of Children and Socioeconomic Status, Mexico
• Figure 6.2 Rigidity of Employment Index in Select LAC Countries and Other Regions, Average 2004–2005
• Figure 6.3 Unemployment Rates over the Business Cycle
• Figure 6.4 Probability of Male Violence in the Caribbean, by Degree of Connectedness
• Figure 6.5 Probability That a Young Caribbean Male Will Engage in Risky Behavior, by Level of School Connectedness
• Figure 6.6 Probability That a Young Caribbean Male Will Use Drugs, Engage in Violent Activity, and Initiate Sexual Activity at a Young Age, by Level of Parental Connectedness
• Figure 6.7 Probability That a Young Brazilian Will Engage in Violence, by Level of Household Violence
• Figure 6.8 Probability That a 16- to 18-Year-Old in the Caribbean Will Use Drugs
• Figure 7.1 Optimal versus Actual Investments in Human Capital throughout the Life Cycle
• Figure 8.1 Investing in Early Childhood Development to Reduce Risky Youth Behavior
• Table 1.1 Comparing Risky Youth Behaviors in Different LAC Countries
• Table 2.1 Forgone Benefits to Society from Early Secondary School Leaving and Youth Unemployment
• Table 2.2 Opportunity Costs to Society of Risky Youth Behaviors
• Table 2.3 Out-of-Pocket Costs to Society of Risky Youth Behavior
• Table 2.4 Lifetime Opportunity Cost/Forgone Income to the Individual as a Result of Early Secondary School Leaving and Youth Unemployment
• Table 2.5 Lifetime Opportunity Costs to the Individual of Risky Behavior
• Table 2.6 Out-of-Pocket Cost to the Individual of Risky Youth Behaviors
• Table 4.1 Allocation of Poor, Indigenous, Rural, and Young/Older Youth across Risk Types in Chile
• Table 4.2 Co-Occurrence of Risky Behaviors by Youth
• Table 5.1 School-to-Work Transition Period in Select LAC Countries
• Table 5.2 Share of Young Men Who Have Not Worked since Leaving School
• Table 5.3 Happiness with Informal Wage Employment in Brazil
• Table 5.4 Satisfaction with Self-Employment in Brazil
• Table 5.5 Percentage of Sexually Active Young People Who Report Engaging in Risky Sex and Using Condoms the Last Time They Had High-Risk Sex
• Table 5.6 Percentage of Teenage Girls Who Are Mothers or Pregnant, by Highest Level of Education Attained and by Area of Residence
• Table 5.7 Homicide Rates by Gender and Age Group, Select Countries
• Table 5.8 Heavy Episodic Drinkers among the Youth Population
• Table 5.9 Lifetime Prevalence Rates of Use of Cannabis, Cocaine, and Inhalants among Young People, 1990–1997
• Table 6.1 Reasons Young People Give for Leaving School
• Table 6.2 How Young Brazilians Perceive the Factors That Affect Their Employability
• Table 6.3 Reasons for Not Searching for a Job, Peru (2001)
• Table 6.4 Methods for Finding Employment
• Table 6.5 Practices Used by Brazilians Ages 14–24 Living in Poor Neighborhoods to Avoid AIDS
• Table 6.6 Reasons That Brazilians Ages 14–24 Living in Poor Neighborhoods Use Alcohol and Drugs
• Table 8.1 Summary of Core Policies
• Table 8.2 Summary of Promising Approaches for Targeting Youth at Risk
• Table 8.3 Summary of General Policies Affecting Youth at Risk
• Table 9.1 Summary of Ineffective Policies and Programs
• Table 9.2 Enhancing the Employability of Youth at Risk: Comparing Choices
• Table 9.3 Cost-Effectiveness Estimates of Youth Violence-Reduction Programs
• Table 9.4 Indicators for Tracking At-Risk Youth
• Table 9.5 Proposed Roles in an Investment Strategy for At-Risk Youth Based on Institutional Comparative Advantages