School-to-Work Transition in Buenos Aires, Lima and Mexico City

Patricio Solís, El Colegio de México
Marcela Cerruti, Centro de Estudios de Población
Martín Benavides, Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE)
Georgina Binstock, Centro de Estudios de Población
Silvia Giorguli-Saucedo, El Colegio de México

The aim of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of the age at leaving school and entering the labor force in three Latin American metropolis: Buenos Aires, Lima and Mexico City. We explore the heterogeneous situations that young people face regarding these two transitions in three settings. We analyze the variations in the labor and enrollment status by socioeconomic stratus and sex, focusing on within and between cities differences. The patterns of inequality that prevail in the Latin American countries are linked to the different opportunities for young people. Although the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the youth account to a large extent for the within-cities differentials, they do not fully account for the between-cities variations. We hypothesize that institutional settings linked to the organization of the school system and to the labor market contribute to explain the school-to-work transition in the three settings.