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Out-of-school and out-of-work youth in Latin America: a persistent problem in a decade of prosperity

Author

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  • Cárdenas, Mauricio
  • de Hoyos, Rafael
  • Székely, Miguel

Abstract

This paper explores the persistent shares of youth that are out of school and out of work in Latin America, with special attention to those in the fifteen-to-eighteen age range. According to our calculations, 18.5 percent of Latin American youth in this age group (9.4 million individuals) are currently neither in school nor working. We present the patterns of the evolution of this group in eighteen countries across the region, identifying the set of microeconomic and aggregate variables that are correlated with their dynamics. We explore the relationship with the household’s socioeconomic characteristics and with the structure and evolution of labor markets. We identify the links with the schooling system and school dropout patterns; and we verify whether the group responds to changes in the environment, including overall GDP growth, or to economic shocks. We also explore the possibility that they are simply a transient demographic phenomenon. JEL Classification: J10, J21, I24.

Suggested Citation

  • Cárdenas, Mauricio & de Hoyos, Rafael & Székely, Miguel, 2015. "Out-of-school and out-of-work youth in Latin America: a persistent problem in a decade of prosperity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 123418, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:123418
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis René Cáceres, 2021. "Youth Unemployment and Underdevelopment in Honduras," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(2), pages 1-61, February.
    2. Ali Fakih & Nathir Haimoun & Mohamad Kassem, 2020. "Youth Unemployment, Gender and Institutions During Transition: Evidence from the Arab Spring," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 311-336, July.
    3. Emmanuel Jose Vazquez & Francisco Haimovich & Melissa Adelman, 2021. "Scalable Early Warning Systems for School Dropout prevention: Evidence from a 4.000-School Randomized Controlled Trial," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4529, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    4. World Bank, 2024. "Central America Human Capital Review," World Bank Publications - Reports 41181, The World Bank Group.
    5. Pablo Gluzmann & Leopoldo Tornarolli & Cecilia Velázquez, 2025. "El Ciclo Económico: Una Pieza en el Rompecabezas de los Jóvenes que Ni Estudian Ni Trabajan en América Latina," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0357, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    6. Luis Rene Caceres, 2021. "Nafta and Mexico’s Economic Growth from a Gender Perspective," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(12), pages 1-90, December.
    7. Melissa Adelman & Francisco Haimovich & Andres Ham & Emmanuel Vazquez, 2018. "Predicting school dropout with administrative data: new evidence from Guatemala and Honduras," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 356-372, July.
    8. De Hoyos Navarro,Rafael E. & Popova,Anna & Rogers,F. Halsey, 2016. "Out of school and out of work: a diagnostic of ninis in Latin America," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7548, The World Bank.
    9. Peña, Werner, 2020. "Population Aging and Public Finances: Evidence from El Salvador," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    10. Adelman,Melissa Ann & Szekely,Miguel, 2016. "School dropout in Central America : an overview of trends, causes, consequences, and promising interventions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7561, The World Bank.
    11. Verónica Amarante & Gerardo Escaroz & Carlos Galian & Monica Rubio, 2024. "Children Do Care: Novel Findings from Colombia and Mexico," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(6), pages 2599-2628, December.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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