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The theme of the World Development Report (WDR) 2007 is youth—young people between the ages of 12 to 24. This report is to be launched in September 2006 in coordination with the World Bank and IMF talks in Singapore. Supporting young people’s transition to adulthood poses important opportunities and risky challenges for development policy. Are education systems preparing young people to cope with the demands of changing economies? What kind of support do they get as they enter the labor market? Can they move freely to where the jobs are? What can be done to help them avoid serious consequences of risky behavior, such as death from HIV-AIDS and drug abuse? Can their creative energy be directed productively to support development thinking? The report will focus on crucial capabilities and transitions in a young person's life: learning for life and work, staying healthy, working, forming families, and exercising citizenship. For each, there are opportunities and risks; for all, policies and institutions matter. Why the focus on the next generation These trends, and how countries manage them, affect economic growth, stability and welfare. How the growing number of young people in developing countries manage the transition to adulthood will affect their welfare and that of future generations and will have a profound impact on the societies they live in tomorrow. What the report is likely to cover These transitions are occurring in a vastly different global context from that of their predecessors because of trade and technology. They are also affecting that environment through labor and capital flows, since young people are a significant portion of international migrants. See also:
The world is undergoing dramatic and varied changes in population. Some developing countries are dealing with the consequences of recent sharp declines in fertility, which has resulted in a large population 'bulge' entering working age. Others, typically the poorer countries, still have high fertility rates and will face a growing school-age population and labor force over an extended period. In the meantime, rich countries, such as Japan and most of Europe, are aging rapidly.
The report seeks to discuss difficult questions surrounding young people’s transition to adulthood, which poses huge opportunities and challenges for development policy. The report seeks to determine how economic policies can help young people during the crucial transition points to adulthood: