According to the report Invest to transform, developed by the IberoAmerican Youth Organization (OIJ) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Latin American countries have invested over 21,2% of their GDP on social public expense during 2012. However, only 12, 2% of that amount was directed towards young people.

This is an important fact, as 3 out of 10 persons in Latin America are young, which leads to an age unbalance that damages young people when social public investments are planned. Most of this expense is done on education, followed by health and social security.

The study made a basic question: how much do the countries in the region invest on young people? The answer is not simple, as every country’s budget is divided into themes, such as health, education and justice, and not into population sectors. OIJ and ECLAC came up with formulas to reach a real and concrete evaluation, enabling discussions based on objective information regarding how much and in what way do countries invest on youth.

The report comes the conclusion that there is a deficit close to 50% on youth’s public expense participation when compared to other age groups and considering its’ demographic importance.

An important chapter of the study analyses the most important youth employment policies developed over the past few years, since the International Labour Organization’s contribution was done.

The report explains that, in order to favour young people on resources’ distribution, it is not only important to send public expense to that sector exclusively, but also to enhance the positive effects generated by broader policies, such as investment on different levels of education, unemployment insurance or employment training. All of these policies benefit young people.

According to the study, including young people into the labour world makes it possible for them to become part of society in an autonomous way. The reason is that this facilitates interpersonal development and mutual recognition within groups of similar characteristics.

The countries that stand out for creating programs focused on strengthening entrepreneur skills and competences among young people are: Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Spain and Portugal. Their efforts include professional employment training, with the use of computer and communication technologies, development of transversal knowledge on mathematics, secretarial studies, calculus and training for young people in marginal urban areas.

The Mexican Youth Institute (IMJVE), the Latin American Development Bank (CAF), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the General IberoAmerican Secretariat (SEGIB), participated on the creation of this document.