An Ibero-American Perspective on Youth Entrepreneurship

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  • Year of publication: 2016
  • Category: Special Topic Reports
  • Language: English
  • Upload date: 2016-11-07

The Ibero-American block includes two European countries (Portugal and Spain) as well as all the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries in North, Central and South America. While most of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region economies have in recent years benefited from rapid economic growth, with concomitant social gains, the drop in commodity prices has had an effect on many countries within the region. Like the rest of the world, the region faces challenges such as persistent jobless growth and an increasing dependence on technology in today’s business environment. Unemployment and underemployment is a critical factor - especially among the youth, who now form a large section of the population. The region is expected to show the largest increase in the youth unemployment rate, which is estimated to reach 16.8 per cent in 2016, and is expected to climb further to 17.1 per cent in 2017. It is clear that the challenge facing the LAC region is to find ways of fostering innovation and effective entrepreneurial activity among the youth in order to harness their potential to contribute in a meaningful way to sustainable economic development in the region.

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