{ "title": "Avoiding a Lost Generation", "publication": "IMF Blog, March 15, 2012", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation", "overlayPath": "/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation/index.md", "summary": "Young people defined as those aged 15 to 24 are the most affected by rising unemployment.", "sections": [ { "heading": "Scope of the problem", "content": "- Young people defined as those aged 15 to 24 are the most affected by rising unemployment.\n- Geographic and country-level statistics as reported:\n - In Spain and Greece, nearly half of all young people cannot find jobs.\n - In the Middle East, young people account for 40 percent or more of all unemployed people in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia.\n - In the Middle East, nearly 60 percent of all unemployed people are young in Syria and Egypt.\n - In the United States, more than 18 percent of all young job seekers cannot find employment.\n- Youth unemployment threatens not only a lost decade in terms of growth but also a lost generation if the right policies are not implemented." }, { "heading": "Legacy of loss — long-term consequences of youth unemployment", "content": "- Increased costs to the economy:\n - Higher unemployment insurance and other benefit payments.\n - Lost income tax revenues.\n - Wasted productive capacity.\n- Brain drain:\n - Increased emigration, noted in Ireland and Iceland and historically in many Middle Eastern countries.\n- Higher crime rates:\n - Increased unemployment has been linked to higher crime rates.\n- Lower lifetime earnings:\n - Youth unemployment leaves a “wage scar” in the form of lower earnings that can last into middle age; the longer the period of unemployment, the bigger the effect.\n- Lower life expectancy:\n - Unemployment more generally has been linked to lower life expectancy, a higher incidence of heart attacks later in life, and even higher rates of suicide." }, { "heading": "Road map to jobs — IMF’s policy focus and recommendations", "content": "- Macroeconomic priority:\n - The IMF’s biggest contribution is helping member countries foster macroeconomic stability and restore economic growth, since job creation depends on recovery.\n- Advanced economies (United States and Europe):\n - Problem: inadequate demand; need to energize growth and employment.\n - Structural issues in Europe: obstacles to hiring young people requiring labor market and competition reforms.\n - IMF recommendations in policy dialogue:\n - Reduce labor market segmentation.\n - Lower barriers to competition, especially in the service sector.\n - Implement growth-friendly tax reforms.\n - Increase efforts in education and research and development.\n- Emerging economies:\n - Many have been growing strongly and some risked overheating.\n - Countries running large external surpluses could help by boosting domestic demand and purchasing more goods produced elsewhere, including in advanced economies.\n- Low-income countries:\n - Weathered the 2008 crisis relatively well but used a lot of government resources and now need to rebuild fiscal buffers.\n - Need to sustain employment and redirect spending toward high-priority areas such as health, education, and infrastructure, even if the global environment deteriorates.\n- Access to credit and financial-sector measures:\n - Recapitalize banks and restore confidence so financial institutions can resume lending and contribute to growth.\n - In developing economies, many banks are lending but loans do not reach large segments of the population, particularly young people and would-be entrepreneurs." }, { "heading": "Call to action", "content": "- For millions of young people around the world, a lot is at stake in 2012.\n- Restoring global growth is crucial to solving youth unemployment, alongside policies to support job creation and credit.\n- Global cooperation is necessary to achieve recovery and prevent futures from being blighted.\n\nAvoiding a Lost Generation — Nemat Shafik, March 15, 2012\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- long-term consequences\n- F&D magazine\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Nemat Shafik", "Published: March 15, 2012", "Young people defined as those aged 15 to 24 are the most affected by rising unemployment.", "Geographic and country-level statistics as reported:", "Youth unemployment threatens not only a lost decade in terms of growth but also a lost generation if the right policies are not implemented.", "Increased costs to the economy:", "Brain drain:", "Higher crime rates:", "Lower lifetime earnings:", "Lower life expectancy:", "Macroeconomic priority:", "Advanced economies (United States and Europe):", "Emerging economies:", "Low-income countries:", "Access to credit and financial-sector measures:", "For millions of young people around the world, a lot is at stake in 2012.", "Restoring global growth is crucial to solving youth unemployment, alongside policies to support job creation and credit.", "Global cooperation is necessary to achieve recovery and prevent futures from being blighted.", "[long-term consequences](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2012/03/morsy.htm)", "[F&D magazine](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2012/03/index.htm)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation/index.md", "json": "/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/blogs/articles/2012/03/15/avoiding-a-lost-generation/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-08-28T02:52:14.753Z" }