Volume 32, Issue 8 p. 1273-1307
Research Article

NEETs in Latin America and the Caribbean: Skills, Aspirations, and Information

Alfredo Alvarado

Alfredo Alvarado

Labor Markets and Social Security, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, USA

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Belén Conde

Belén Conde

Labor Markets and Social Security, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, USA

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Rafael Novella

Rafael Novella

Labor Markets and Social Security, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, USA

Oxford Department of International Development, The Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

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Andrea Repetto

Corresponding Author

Andrea Repetto

School of Government, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile

Correspondence to: Andrea Repetto, School of Government, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal Las Torres 2640, Santiago, Chile.

E-mail: andrea.repetto@uai.cl

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First published: 06 August 2020
Citations: 6

Correction added on 7 September 2020: The article title has been amended to include NEETs as an abbreviation

Abstract

This paper studies the role of cognitive skills, socioemotional skills, aspirations and expectations on the likelihood of being NEET (not in education, employment or training) using a novel sample of 15 to 24 year old residents of seven Latin American and Caribbean countries. After controlling for sociodemographic household conditions, we find that numeracy and literacy skills, core self-evaluation, extraversion and educational aspirations are robust correlates of being NEET. We also find cross country heterogeneity. That is, in some countries, passion and perseverance for long-term goals, neuroticism and labour market information biases are additional factors associated with being NEET. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.