World Youth Conference 2010

"Either we do nothing - and risk alienating [youth] from the mainstream and instilling in them a legacy of distrust and hopelessness - or we invest in the biggest source of human potential that the world has ever had, and reap the benefits of that investment through greater growth and social well-being for generations to come."

This quote from the Financial Times op-ed "Seizing the opportunity now will make the world fairer and safer" by Justin Yifu Lin, the World Bank's Chief Economist, and Wendy Cunningham, the coordinator of the World Bank's Children and Youth Unit, leaves no doubt: investing in young people is not only the right thing to do, it is also a smart thing to do.

This was also the World Bank's message during the World Youth Conference 2010 hosted by the Government of Mexico from August 23-27. It is more effective to invest early in life than to repair later, when badly equipped adults turn out to be unskilled, unemployed, or unhealthy. 

The World Youth Conference brought together government officials from over 100 countries (mainly from youth ministries), NGO delegates, UN agencies, and the general public (mainly Mexican students). According to some estimates, the conference attracted over 20,000 visitors in total. Final statements from governments and NGOs can be found on the WYC website.

Over 500 million young people aged 15-24 are living with less than $2/day (estimate from 2005). Many youth are affected by early school drop-out, poor labor market entry, substance abuse, crime and violence, teen pregnancies, or sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. This is not only a problem for the young people themselves. Many of these negative outcomes are also likely to be transferred to the next generation, creating a vicious cycle of social exclusion and negative behaviors (if interested, have a look at Kate Bird's paper on "The intergenerational transmission of poverty: an overview").

A lack of opportunities and capabilities for young people are also a problem for society as a whole. One major determinant for economies to flourish is the quality of their labor force (or "human capital" as economists put it). Not investing in this capital results in the underutilization of valuable human resources, and the costs associated with some of the negative outcomes listed above go into billions of dollars. In fact, not only do governments have to pay for the damage in form of welfare spending, criminal justice, or medical treatment, they also suffer from lower economic production and reduced tax revenues.

"Governments are beginning to realize that expenditures on children and youth should be seen as public investment that generate returns to society through higher economic growth, reduced social costs, and increased quality of life for all," says Wendy Cunningham, noting that risky youth behavior in Latin America and the Caribbean reduces economic growth by up to 2% annually (check out her book "Youth at risk in Latin America and the Caribbean: Understanding the causes, realizing the potential").

So what can governments do? The recently published note "Investing in your country's children and youth today: Good policy, smart economics" lays out the following four principles:

• Invest early, starting at birth: Abilities, preferences, and behavior are formed starting at birth, so programs to reduce risky behaviors among youth need to start at an early age.

• Target influencing factors beyond the young person: People, and young people in particular, are a product of the social and economic influences around them. Thus, interventions should not only target youth directly, but also the factors that shape their behaviors, such as families, schools, media, etc.

• Invest on grounds of empirical evidence: With limited resources available, governments should focus on interventions that work and not waste their money on ineffective programs (for a review of proven and promising approaches, have a look at "Supporting Youth at Risk - A policy toolkit for middle income countries")

• Reallocate resources: The social expenditure of many governments is heavily skewed toward adults. To reap the benefits of early investment, public expenditure should put stronger emphasis on those under the age of 25. Vulnerable groups merit special attention, since they are not participating in formal education systems where most of the traditional spending for young people goes, or are only participating to a lesser extent.

The World Youth Conference made it clear that the challenges facing youth across the world are huge and are likely to remain so in the future. Addressing these challenges and reaping the tremendous potential of their youth populations leaves local and national leaders with a major responsibility. They have to make the young generation a priority for public investment.