Argentina - Today's Youth : An Untapped Potential
Argentina's youth 6.7 million between the ages of 15 and 24 are an important, but to a certain extent untapped, resource for development. Over 2 million (31 percent) have already engaged in risky behaviors, and another 1 million (15 percent) a...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/01/12050996/argentina-todays-youth-untapped-potential http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10289 |
| Summary: | Argentina's youth 6.7 million
between the ages of 15 and 24 are an important, but to a
certain extent untapped, resource for development. Over 2
million (31 percent) have already engaged in risky
behaviors, and another 1 million (15 percent) are exposed to
risk factors that are correlated with eventual risky
behaviors. This totals 46 percent of youth at some form of
risk. This note addresses these issues and draws on to
findings of a recently completed World Bank report aiming at
generating, consolidating and sharing knowledge about the
risks faced by youth in Argentina as well as the policy
options for addressing them. Today's youth cohort is
the country's largest ever and it's largest for
the foreseeable future. If policymakers do not invest in
youth now especially in youth at risk they will miss a
unique opportunity to equip the next generation with the
abilities to become the drivers of growth, breaking the
intergenerational spiral of poverty and inequality and
moving Argentina back into the group of high-income
countries. If youth are educated and skilled, they can be a
tremendous asset for development. If not, they can burden
society and public finances. Argentines are well educated,
with an advanced education system when compared with most of
Latin America. Argentina has made great progress since the
1980s: enrollment in primary education is nearly universal
and average educational attainment has increased, reaching
10.4 years in 2005 (compared with the regional average of
5.9 years and East Asia's average of 7.6 years). The
government is to be commended for maintaining high
enrollments through difficult times. However, significant
differences in educational outcomes persist by wealth and
location. While less than 1 percent of 6-17-year olds from
the richest 20 percent of households are not in school, this
number rises to 8.2 percent for those from the poorest 20
percent of households. Children and youth in rural areas
have a higher probability of dropping out than those in
urban areas. |
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