Publication: Out of School and Out of Work: A Conceptual Framework for Investigating 'ninis' in Latin America and the Caribbean
Date
2014-09
ISSN
Published
2014-09
Author(s)
Behrman, Jere R.
de Hoyos, Rafael
Székely, Miguel
Abstract
The proportion of youth that is not in
work or in school or ninis1 in Latin America and the
Caribbean (LAC) remains high. The latest estimates show that
about 19 per cent of 15-24 years olds in the region, were in
this status in 2010 (de Hoyos, Rogers and Popova (2013).
This status entails a series of negative implications for
the life-cycle development of the youth involved with a
break in the human capital accumulation process that
translates into a reduction in future productivity and labor
market outcomes. A large share of ninis might also entail
risks for society at large through potential short-term
effects such as crime rates, and through the long-term
sequels from not fully capitalizing on the ‘demographic
window of opportunity’ of historically low economic
dependency ratios, among others. The objective of this paper
is to develop a conceptual framework for laying out the main
elements involved in the dynamics of choices and
restrictions faced by youth in the 15-24 age range. The
paper also discusses different approaches that could be used
to test the empirical validity of the theoretical
implications presented here. The paper includes four
sections. Section two starts with a simple characterization
of the life-cycle transition of time uses for youth in LAC.
Section three introduces a more formal presentation of what
underlies these processes and what impact they may have.
Section four addresses the considerations for empirical
analyses and policy discussion. The last section includes
some final remarks.
Citation
“Behrman, Jere R.; de Hoyos, Rafael; Székely, Miguel. 2014. Out of School and Out of Work : A Conceptual Framework for Investigating 'ninis' in Latin America and the Caribbean. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23835 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”