Publication: Youth Well-Being in Brazil : An Index for Cross-Regional Comparisons
Date
2007-04
ISSN
Published
2007-04
Author(s)
Abstract
This study constructs three indices to
measure how well Brazil's young people are surviving
their transition to adulthood. Youth development is
difficult to quantify because of the multi-dimensionality of
youth behavior. Most monitoring use individual indicators in
specific sectors, making it difficult to track overall
progress. The study adapts to the Brazilian case a
methodology developed by Duke University to measure the
well-being of U.S. children and youth. It uses readily
available data to construct three indices for each Brazilian
state based on 36 indicators encompassing the health,
behavior, school performance, institutional connectedness,
and socioeconomic conditions. The indices conclude that
young people in the states of Santa Catarina and the Federal
District are doing particularly well and those in Alagoas
and Pernambuco are the worst off. While these rankings are
expected to continue into the next generation, young people
in other states have a brighter (Espiritu Santo) or more
dismal (Rio Grande de Sul, Tocatins) future due to
underinvestment in today's children. Still others (Rio
de Janeiro) are underutilizing their resources so their
young citizens are in a worse situation than they could be
if the state were to invest more. The hope is that the
methodology can be used in Brazil as it has been used in the
United States to estimate the indices annually, thus
allowing policymakers, young people, and society to track
the well-being of youth in each state over time.
Citation
“Dell'Aglio, Debora; Cunningham, Wendy; Koller, Silvia; Cassepp Borges, Vicente; Severo Leon, Joana. 2007. Youth Well-Being in Brazil : An Index for Cross-Regional Comparisons. Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4189. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/85fb6448-1ed4-5cab-9a12-437ec5ad8f98 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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