Development and the Next Generation World Development Report 2007 September

Why focus on youth now? Motivation  A higher base on which to build human capital to grow and reduce poverty even more  A large youth cohort is a potential demographic dividend

Demographic Windows of Opportunity

Human capital during 5 youth transitions key for poverty reduction and growth % of Cohort Age 24 Learning in school after primary-age Working Forming families Participating in civic life Taking health risks

3 types of questions asked of each transition (‘youth lens’ on policy) OpportunitiesCapability Second-chances Policies affecting human capital for- mation during youth transitions -- Economy wide policies and insts: macro stability, invest. climate, governance, labor market regulations -- Education -- Training -- Health services -- Welfare and family services -- Infrastructure Youth ‘Lenses’ “Youth friendly” policies

Opportunity: Invest more, but focus on quality and relevance. % of young women, 15-24, who can read a simple sentence or know condoms can prevent HIV/AIDS after six years of primary school Inadequate preparation for adolescence improve quality of basic Relevance of education for jobs Curriculum reform, Flexibility in educ systems

Opportunity: facilitate entry to work Africans who transition to work from school experience very long periods of inactivity, implying significant labor market entry problems.  In Cameroon, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia young people face about five years of inactivity before finding work  More than 18 million unemployed youth in Sub-Saharan Africa What’s needed? 1) Promote growth that leads to greater youth employment 2) Reform institutions that inhibit job creation for and mobility of unskilled young people  Excessively high minimum wages  Regulations often make it difficult and time consuming to open a business  Opening up opportunities to migrate

But not too early – youth should also have the opportunity to stay in school

Capable Decision-Making: Information and incentives Returns perceived low, discounted too heavily, costs perceived high info campaigns Knowledge may not be enough Motivate by conditional cash transfers; Involve them in program design Percentage of young people who are aware of multiple ways to prevent HIV/AIDS

Capability for employment Youth need to be prepared to take advantage of potential opportunities, or to create opportunities on their own  improve the quality of their education systems and the relevance of school curricula  Better quality training in apprenticeships e.g. Jua Kali program in Kenya.  Networking and mentoring for self-employment – e.g. Endeavor program in South America.

Second-chances: Recovering from poor outcomes The costs of not giving young people another chance to recover are high:  Effects are long-lasting  Later recovery as adults is more costly  May inhibit investment by others (high HIV/AIDS prevalence leads to lower investment.

Second-chances: Programs are more sustainable if they:  Are designed to attract young people: E.g., age- specific education (1/2 of all Malawian 19 yr olds are in primary school)  Help youth reenter the mainstream: E.g., Graduate equivalency programs  Stress restoration and not retribution (e.g., South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Program)

Coordination: youth outcomes are multi-sectoral

Moving Forward Coordination: youth outcomes are improved multi-sectoral efforts – but most policy is sectorally focused. Voice: the constituency of youth is weak (which is why for this Report, we had extensive consultation) Evaluation: many youth-specific initiatives are still new; impact must be studied and here donors play a key role