Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Overview Why Do Young People Deserve Special Attention? -- Key Messages -- Designing Effective Interventions -- Policy Conclusions -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- The Motivation for the Study -- Definitions, Data, and Methodologies -- The Organization of the Report -- Notes -- Section I Laying the Groundwork -- Chapter 2 Motivations for Focusing on At-Risk Youth -- The Youth Cohort, Particularly Those Considered At-Risk, Is Growing -- The Costs of Not Investing in At-Risk Youth Are Very High for Young People, Their Families, and Society -- Notes -- Chapter 3 A Conceptual Framework and Its Application for Policy Making -- The Conceptual Framework and Definitions -- Moving from the Conceptual Framework to Policy -- Note -- Chapter 4 Identifying At-Risk Youth for Better Programming and Targeting -- A Characterization of At-Risk Youth -- Using the Risk Typology for Targeting Prevention Programs -- Using the Risk Typology for Targeting for Second Chances -- Conclusions -- Notes -- Section II Informing Policy by Understanding the Trends and Causes of Risky Behavior in LAC -- Chapter 5 Understanding the Nature and the Magnitude of Risky Behavior -- Leaving School without Learning -- Difficult Integration into the Labor Market: Joblessness and Job Turnover -- Risky Sexual Behavior -- Crime and Violence -- Substance Use -- Notes -- Chapter 6 Identifying the Factors That Put Youth at Risk -- Why Young People Engage in Risky Behavior -- Key Factors Correlated with Risky Behaviors -- Cumulative Effect of Factors -- Conclusions -- Notes -- Section III Helping Young People Make Good Choices: Programming, Policy, and Implementation -- Chapter 7 Principles for Building an Effective Portfolio for Youth at Risk -- Investing in At-Risk Youth Leads to Lower Demands on the Public Purse in the Future.

Preventing Risky Behavior Begins at Birth -- At-Risk Youth Need Second Chances -- Effective Targeting Is the Key to Results -- The Most Effective Portfolio Will Prioritize Policies and Programs That Affect Multiple Risks -- Include Only Effective Policies in the Portfolio -- Notes -- Chapter 8 Prioritizing What Works -- Core Policies: Strategies That Work and Are Recommended for Implementation -- Nine Promising Approaches That Ought to Work and Should Be Tried, Accompanied by Careful Impact Evaluation -- General Policies with a Surprisingly Strong Effect on Youth at Risk -- Notes -- Chapter 9 Moving From a Wish List to Action -- Improving the Portfolio for At-Risk Youth in a Budget-Constrained Environment: Reallocate Resources Away from Ineffective Programs toward Recommended Programs -- Improving the Portfolio for At-Risk Youth in a Budget-Constrained Environment: Collecting, Analyzing, and Using Data -- Assign and Coordinate Institutional Responsibilities Based on Comparative Advantages -- Notes -- Chapter 10 Investing in Youth in LAC: Key Messages and Conclusions -- Key Messages -- Defining an Effective Portfolio of Policies and Programs -- Moving Forward -- Appendix A Population in LAC by Age and Sex -- Appendix B Methodology for Estimating the Cost of Negative Youth Behavior -- Individual Financial Costs -- Individual Opportunity Costs -- Social Financial Costs -- Social Opportunity Costs -- Components of the Cost Estimates for Each Kind of Risky Youth Behavior -- Appendix C Methodology for Devising the Typology of At-Risk Youth -- Notes -- Appendix D Measuring Youth Outcomes -- Note -- Appendix E Estimated Taxpayer Costs and Crime-Reduction Benefits of 16 Crime Prevention Programs -- Appendix F Sources of Information for Evaluated Programs -- General -- Crime and Violence -- Risky Health Behavior -- Labor -- Education -- Substance Abuse.

World Bank Experts Working Group on Youth at Risk in LAC -- References -- Index -- Box 4.1 Methodology for Creating a Typology of Youth at Risk in LAC -- Box 4.2 Co-Occurrence of School Dropout and Other Risky Behavior -- Box 5.1 Characteristics of Young Parents and Their Children in the United States -- Box 5.2 Pandillas in Nicaragua -- Box 5.3 When You Are a Marero -- Box 6.1 Methodology for Identifying Risk and Protective Factors That Are Correlated with Risky Youth Behavior -- Box 6.2 Lives of Juvenile Delinquents in Brazil -- Box 8.1 Methodology for Developing a Policy Toolkit for LAC Youth at Risk -- Box 8.2 Second-Chance Education in the Dominican Republic -- Box 8.3 The Impact of the Jóvenes Model -- Box 8.4 Individual Learning Accounts in Colombia and Mexico -- Box 8.5 Brazil's Open Schools -- Box 8.6 Youth Service in the United States and Jamaica -- Box 8.7 Evaluating the Impact of Mentoring Programs in the United States -- Box 8.8 Employment Services in Argentina and Venezuela -- Box 8.9 The Dominican Republic's Mi Barrio Seguro Program -- Box 8.10 Banning Firearms in Colombia -- Box 8.11 Alcohol Restrictions and Reduced Violence in São Paulo, Brazil -- Box 8.12 Social Marketing of Condoms: The Experience of DKT do Brasil -- Box 9.1 The Alternatives to Get-Tough Strategies -- Box 9.2 Evaluations of Outcomes Are a Fundamental Part of At-Risk Youth Programs -- Box 9.3 Addressing Youth at Risk at the Municipal Level -- Figure 1.1 Share of Each Age Group That Leaves School or Starts Work (Mexico) -- Figure 1.2 Share of Each Age Group Initiating Their Sexual Lives (Haiti) -- Figure 1.3 Share of Each Age Group That Begins Smoking (Chile) -- Figure 1.4 Distribution by Age of Those Arrested for Criminal/Violent Activity (Jamaica) -- Figure 2.1 LAC Youth Population (15-24 Years) in Absolute Numbers and Share, 1950-2050.

Figure 2.2 LAC Male and Female Populations by Age Group, 2005 and 2025 -- Figure 2.3 Changes in the Classically Shaped Population Pyramids -- Figure 2.4 Opening and Closing Demographic Windows of Opportunity -- Figure 2.5 Trends in Adolescent Fertility Rates -- Figure 2.6 Out-of-Pocket Costs of School Attendance in Bolivia and Mexico, as a share of household income -- Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework for Youth at Risk: Link between Risk Factors, Risky Behavior, and Negative Youth Outcomes -- Figure 3.2 Conceptual Framework for Youth at Risk: Policy Application -- Figure 4.1 Shares of the Population in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico by Level of Risk -- Figure 4.2. Characterization of LAC Youth with Different Levels of Risk -- Figure 5.1 Percentage of Secondary School-Age Children Who Are Not Enrolled in Secondary School -- Figure 5.2 Percentage of Primary School-Age Children Who Are Not Enrolled in Primary School -- Figure 5.3 Schooling Attainment for Ages 15-19 in LAC, Circa 2000 -- Figure 5.4 Average Years of Schooling in LAC Countries Compared with Southeast Asia, 1960-2000 -- Figure 5.5 Percentage of the Population 25 Years and Older Who Have At Least Some Schooling at Each Education Level, 2000 -- Figure 5.6 Average Score in the Mathematics Scale in PISA 2003 and GDP Per Capita (purchasing power parity adjusted) in 2003 -- Figure 5.7 Average PISA Scores by Country and by Household Poverty Level, 2003 -- Figure 5.8 Share of Young Peruvians at Each Age Who Are Full-Time Students -- Figure 5.9 Ratio of Youth to Total Unemployment Rates in Select LAC Countries -- Figure 5.10 Duration of Unemployment -- Figure 5.11 Jobless Rates in LAC Disaggregated by Unemployment and Inactivity Rates for 19-24-Year-Olds -- Figure 5.12 Rates of Joblessness (Latest Year Available) -- Figure 5.13 Share of Each Age Group That Becomes Jobless.

Figure 5.14 Share of Poor and Nonpoor Groups in Self-, Unpaid, Informal Salaried, and Formal Salaried Employment -- Figure 5.15 Percentage of Females (Ages 25-29) Who Had Sex by the Age of 15 -- Figure 5.16 Teen Fertility Rates per 100,000 Girls Ages 15-19 in LAC and Select Industrial Countries, 2000 -- Figure 5.17 Birthrates for Teenagers in LAC, 1980-2000 -- Figure 5.18 Median Age at Time of First Birth among Women, by Rural Area and Education Level -- Figure 5.19 HIV Prevalence among Youth -- Figure 5.20 Distribution of People Arrested for Murder and Major Crimes by Age Group, Jamaica, 2004 -- Figure 5.21 Tobacco Use by Youth -- Figure 5.22a Cannabis Use among Teenagers in Chile and Colombia -- Figure 5.22b Use of Various Drugs by Students 10-18 Years Old in 10 Brazilian Capital Cities -- Figure 6.1 Percentage of 17-Year-Old Girls Who Are Not in School by Number of Children and Socioeconomic Status, Mexico -- Figure 6.2 Rigidity of Employment Index in Select LAC Countries and Other Regions, Average 2004-2005 -- Figure 6.3 Unemployment Rates over the Business Cycle -- Figure 6.4 Probability of Male Violence in the Caribbean, by Degree of Connectedness -- Figure 6.5 Probability That a Young Caribbean Male Will Engage in Risky Behavior, by Level of School Connectedness -- Figure 6.6 Probability That a Young Caribbean Male Will Use Drugs, Engage in Violent Activity, and Initiate Sexual Activity at a Young Age, by Level of Parental Connectedness -- Figure 6.7 Probability That a Young Brazilian Will Engage in Violence, by Level of Household Violence -- Figure 6.8 Probability That a 16- to 18-Year-Old in the Caribbean Will Use Drugs -- Figure 7.1 Optimal versus Actual Investments in Human Capital throughout the Life Cycle -- Figure 8.1 Investing in Early Childhood Development to Reduce Risky Youth Behavior.

Table 1.1 Comparing Risky Youth Behaviors in Different LAC Countries.

Youth at Risk in Latin America provides evidence-based guidance to policymakers that will help increase the effectiveness of their youth investment program. Drawing on the authors' detailed analyses, the book describes twenty-three policies and programs that youth development experts agree are the basis of a quality youth development portfolio, from early childhood development programs to parent training to cash transfers for positive behaviors. It also lays out strategies for implementing this effective youth portfolio in a budget-constrained environment by reallocation of resources away from ineffective programs, collection and use of data on program effectiveness, and implementation of the portfolio by a diverse set of actors based on their comparative advantages.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.