Main challenges for youth in Brazil

Author: IMDS and Oppen Social

Edition: 1st

Published in: February 2023

What do the themes of youth, demography, and productivity have in common? In recent decades Brazil has been going through one of the most radical changes in the demographic pyramid hitherto unseen in the world since the demographic data was systematized and made comparable. The country that was of the future in 1980, in 2060 will be of the past. On the other hand, the surplus of the working-age population in relation to the sum of children and the elderly (what is called the demographic bonus) has never been higher and will continue to be so for another decade.

It turns out that low average schooling and low quality of education acquired by the working-age population – not surpassed by the current generation of young people – has led both to a drop in the fraction of those who participate in the labor force (especially so for women with low education), and to a reduction in the productivity of those who get jobs (who occupy low-paid and usually informal positions). Behind the problem is society’s inability to generate social mobility at the base of the pyramid.

The presentation “Main challenges for youth in Brazil: youth and productivity” shows a portrait of Brazilian youth from the point of view of the challenges of capacity development. It is clear that mitigating the perverse effects of demographic reversal in the country depends on overcoming bottlenecks that prevent social mobility and greater productive inclusion of youth. Productivity, a key element for growth, also plays a crucial role in today’s challenges.

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