## Work In Progress: Improving Youth Labor Market Outcomes in Emerging Market and Developing Economies

_Staff Discussion Notes, January 22, 2019_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Work In Progress: Improving Youth Labor Market Outcomes in Emerging Market and Developing Economies](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/staff-discussion-notes/issues/2019/01/18/work-in-progress-improving-youth-labor-market-outcomes-in-emerging-market-and-developing-45130)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/staff-discussion-notes/issues/2019/01/18/work-in-progress-improving-youth-labor-market-outcomes-in-emerging-market-and-developing-45130/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/staff-discussion-notes/issues/2019/01/18/work-in-progress-improving-youth-labor-market-outcomes-in-emerging-market-and-developing-45130/index.json)
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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: JaeBin Ahn, Zidong An, John C Bluedorn, Gabriele Ciminelli, Zsoka Koczan, Davide Malacrino, Daniela Muhaj, Patricia Neidlinger
- Published: January 22, 2019
- Series: Staff Discussion Notes
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484393901.006

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### Overview
- Economic development and growth depend on a country’s young people.
- In the typical emerging market and developing economy, youth constitute about a third of the working-age population.
- Youth face a challenging labor market: about 20 percent of them are neither employed, in school, nor in training (the youth inactivity rate), which is double the share in the average advanced economy.

### Key findings
- Bringing youth inactivity in emerging market and developing economies down to the level in advanced economies, and getting those inactive young people into new jobs, would have substantial economy-wide effects:
  - The working-age employment rate in the average emerging market and developing economy would rise more than 3 percentage points.
  - Real output would get a 5 percent boost.
- The Staff Discussion Note presents these estimates as indicative of the macroeconomic importance of improving youth labor market outcomes.

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## Content in this bundle

- **Staff Discussion Note**
  - [Staff Discussion Note (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/sdn/2019/sdn1902.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Staff Discussion Note (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/sdn/2019/sdn1902.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/staff-discussion-notes/issues/2019/01/18/work-in-progress-improving-youth-labor-market-outcomes-in-emerging-market-and-developing-45130_