This is the latest Briefing Paper from ODI for COPLA. It argues that: Changes in employment, prices and social expenditures are three pathways linking trade and gender; Trade liberalisation may have positive or negative impacts, but there are risks for women; Trade reforms must be complemented by social and labour policies to ensure that women can take full advantage of the new economic environment

A key aim of COPLA is to address the effect of trade policies on those who are socially excluded.

The paper prepared by UNESCO examines the phenomenon of youth employment within export oriented manufacturing industries. The chapter looks at the role of globalisation on young people and finds that while globalisation has indeed created employment opportunities for youth it has been at the expense of decreased security and labour conditions.

This paper looks at the social, political and economic context in Latin America and the repercussions these have on employment opportunities for youth and youth exclusion. The author focuses on three main policies in order to overcome youth employment problems: 1. Education 2. Training 3. Instruction. In terms of social exclusion the paper explores regional programmes against segmentation i.e. “Chile Joven”.

This article provides policies for structural unemployment, frictional unemployment and unemployment shifts. The main focus of the paper is on the policies necessary to avoid unemployment shifts. These policies include:
· Direct job creation
· Subsidies to employers
· Self-employment options
In terms of self-employment policies, these policies are directed towards youth, as entrepreneurial skills can be acquired more easily by youth then by adults.

This policy analysis looks at the economic relationships between sectors: where formal and informal sectors are intimately linked in terms of youth and adult workers, where skilled workers and their shortages exist throughout all sectors of the economy, and where downsizing and technical change shed large numbers of unskilled labour to the informal sector.

This paper analysis the basic facts surrounding the problem of youth unemployment in the Southern Cone countries in the 1990s, as well as its causes, consequences and solutions.

This policy paper examines the dynamics of the youth labor market in Latin America. The school-to-work transition is its point of departure and provides the context for explaining the nature, scope, and range of youth unemployment and underemployment in Latin America. The aim of the paper is to explore the country differences that are essential when planning and implementing youth programs.

Youth employment problems affect not only the welfare of young people themselves but also some key elements of socio-economic development in general. This article examines the circumstances, origins and consequences of these problems and reviews the statistical information available on recent trends in youth employment variables. The figures show that the occupational position of young people has deteriorated in absolute terms along with labour markets generally and that, contrary to some expectations, it has not improved in relative terms either.

In order to explore youth in Latin America this chapter looks at the socio economic and political changes undergone in Latin America over the last 30 years. The chapter emphasises how new democratic governments, changes to economic reforms, social transformations and demographic shifts have together affected the life of youths. The chapter also focuses on the changes in educational opportunities within Latin America, rising unemployment rate, declining wages of youths, international migration and youth poverty

This Report provides an overview of the youth unemployment rate in Latin America focusing on non-precarious, precarious, unemployed, inactive as well as those who are unemployed and not studying. The main purpose of this Report is to contribute towards actions for creating conditions for young people in Latin America to obtain productive jobs and to be able to progress in decent employment.

This paper looks at the gendered effects of trade expansion in developing countries.

This paper focuses on the gender impact of trade on employment with a specific focus on the banana industry.

This paper provides a general overview of the relationship between trade and gender, with the purpose of exploring whether international trade changes, maintains or reinforces existing gender structur