P OVERTY AND EXCLUSION : CLOSING GAPS IN THE LIVES AND REALITIES OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN L ATIN A MERICA Alicia Bárcena Executive Secretary Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Dialogue of the Executive Secretaries of the Regional Commissions with ECOSOC New York, 10 July 2012

Where does Latin America and the Caribbean stand today? Learning from the past More prudent in macroeconomic terms Progressive in social terms Slower pace of economic growth in 2011 and 2012 than in 2010 Urgent need to recast a new development agenda centred on equality and with environmental sustainability as one of its themes – Productive and social gaps must be closed – The region has to face historical and recent debts The region is aiming for structural change

And where do the young people stand? A generation beset by tensions Young people today are hit harder by the following tensions or paradoxes than the rest of the population: Greater access to education Greater access to information More adaptable to productive change Greater expectations of autonomy Less access to employment Less access to power More excluded from that process Fewer opportunities to achieve it They are in better health but less is known about the specific causes of morbidity and mortality affecting them They are more prolific in terms of sensitivities but more segmented in terms of communication They fall between policy receivers and protagonists for change Their symbolic consumption has increased while their material consumption has been restricted They are totally engaged in the present and ever greater demands are expected to be placed on them in the future Other tensions

LATIN AMERICA (18 COUNTRIES): POVERTY AND INDIGENCE RATES AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE AGED YEARS, AROUND 2010 (Percentages) Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of data from household surveys conducted in the relevant countries. Almost 10.5 million young people aged 15 to 29 years live in extreme poverty, while poverty affects 30.5 million

Education and employment: two master keys to closing the social inclusion gaps affecting young people

LATIN AMERICA (18 COUNTRIES): TIMELY PROGRESSION THROUGH THE EDUCATION SYSTEM BY YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 15 TO 19 YEARS, AROUND 2008 a (Percentages) Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of data from household surveys conducted in the relevant countries. a Refers to students who attended and completed the appropriate grade at the appropriate age, considering a maximum delay of one year due to late enrolment. Inequity in exercising the right to education exacerbates inequality problems in the region Education: progressing steadily through a highly stratified education system

LATIN AMERICA (19 COUNTRIES): COMPLETION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION BY YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 20 TO 24 YEARS AND GENDER PARITY INDEX, AROUND 2008 (Percentages and ratios) Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of data from household surveys conducted in the relevant countries.. Inclusive educational thresholds The region is falling short of its goal of achieving a 75% completion rate for secondary education

LATIN AMERICA (18 COUNTRIES): a COMPLETION OF HIGHER SECONDARY EDUCATION AMONG YOUTH AGED 20 TO 24 BY PER CAPITA INCOME LEVEL AND SEX, AROUND 2008 (Percentages) Source: Economic Commission for Latin Ameirica and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of household surveys conducted in the respective countries. a The figures relating to indigenous and non-indigenous youth relate to eight countries and to the year Completion of secondary education: where inequality is already entrenched in the social system

And then is perpetuated in labour income throughout life Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of household surveys in the respective countries, around 2008). LATIN AMERICA (18 COUNTRIES): MONTHLY LABOUR INCOME OF THE EMPLOYED POPULATION AGED 15 TO 29, 30 TO 64 AND 15 YEARS AND OVER, BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION ATTAINED (Percentage and PPP dollars at 2000 prices)

And in their working careers and prospects in terms of access to decent employment LATIN AMERICA (SELECTED COUNTRIES): RATES OF INFORMALITY BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION ATTAINED (Percentages) Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of household surveys conducted in the respective countries, around 2008.

LATIN AMERICA (18 COUNTRIES): UNEMPLOYMENT BY AGE GROUP, AROUND 1990 AND 2008 (Percentages) Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of household surveys conducted in the respective countries. Apart from the socioeconomic differences, unemployment affects young people more than adults, although the youth unemployment rate has risen more slowly than the adult employment rate during the crisis

Despite the steady increase in social spending in the past two decades, Governments in Latin America play a limited role in financing consumption for children and young people SOURCES OF FINANCING FOR CONSUMPTION BY CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE, AROUND 2000 (Percentages of total consumption) Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of information from the System of National Accounts project on intergenerational transfers, population aging and social protection in Latin America of the Latin American and Caribbean Population Centre (CELADE) – Population Division of ECLAC, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Europe (seven countries), Japan and the United States Latin America (five countries)

The main challenges for reducing social inclusion gaps among youth Promoting capacity-building for young people, especially those from lower-income groups, through greater progress in school, access to quality education and training, and access to ICTs. Faciliating the education-employment link through labour intermediation policies and closer coordination between the labour market and school leaving. Listening to young people and their new demands on the political system and seeking better ways of involving emerging youth organizations in public decision-making systems (parties, the media, parliament). Placing special emphasis on social investment in groups of young people that are in a particularly vulnerable situation (rural youth, indigenous youth, adolescent mothers and young people exposed to violence), albeit with a universalist approach in terms of social protection networks.

Understanding the strategic importance of youth in the change of era Young people absorb new technology faster and can be drivers of structural change Capacity-building for youth will help to close the productivity gap with industrialized countries when combined with active industrial policies Young people show greater sensitivity on issues of environmental sustainability, and, in the future, productive development options are therefore expected to reflect concern for sustainability Young people are totally captivated by the network society, which augers well for greater citizen participation and public dialogue in the future. The burden of the older societies of the future will fall on the young men and women of today, hence it is fundamental to invest in the youth of today.