World development report 2007: development and the next generation - Hardcover

World Bank

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0821365495 ISBN 13: 9780821365496

Publisher: World Bank, 2006

Synopsis

The theme of The World Development Report 2007 is youth - young people between the ages of 12 to 24. As this population group seeks identity and independence, they make decisions that affect not only their own well-being, but that of others, and they do this in a rapidly changing demographic and socio-economic environment. Supporting young people's transition to adulthood poses important opportunities and risky challenges for development policy. Are education systems preparing young people to cope with the demands of changing economies? What kind of support do they get as they enter the labor market? Can they move freely to where the jobs are? What can be done to help them avoid serious consequences of risky behavior, such as death from HIV-AIDS and drug abuse? Can their creative energy be directed productively to support development thinking The report will focus on crucial capabilities and transitions in a young person's life: learning for life and work, staying healthy, working, forming families, and exercising citizenship. For each, there are opportunities and risks; for all, policies and institutions matter.

About this title

Synopsis

There has never been a better time to invest in young people in developing countries. Those aged 12-24 years number 1.2 billion and make up the largest youth cohort in history. They are, on average, more educated and healthier than generations before them. They represent, potentially, a stronger base on which to build, in a world that is increasingly demanding more than basic skills. Today's young people are the next generation of workers, entrepreneurs, parents, active citizens and leaders, who will live their lives with relatively fewer dependents because of lower fertility. Countries need to seize this window of opportunity before the aging process closes it. "Development and the Next Generation", the 2007 World Development Report (WDR), discusses the priorities for government action across five youth transitions that shape investments in young people's human capital: learning, working, staying healthy, forming families, and exercising citizenship. It concludes that investments in young people have been most successful when they have not only expanded opportunities directly, but have also improved the climate for young people and their families to invest in themselves.

Within these transitions, the WDR concludes that priorities for investment vary across countries. For middle-income and high-growth countries in East Asia, among others, which have already succeeded in providing mass basic and secondary education, the challenge is to develop a tertiary education system that enables young people to find jobs in highly competitive innovative industries, and to address their new health threats such as youth's tobacco use, obesity and road accidents. For lower-income countries such as those in Africa, the priority is to establish basic literacy and life skills for young adolescents and to safeguard health by preventing HIV/AIDS among young people who are beginning to be sexually active. Other priorities are more commonly shared across all countries. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the "World Development Indicators 2006" - an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries.

Edition details

• Publisher: World Bank
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0821365495
• ISBN 13: 9780821365496
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 227