Social Mobility and Inequality in Latin America: Insights from Education

               I have a YouTube channel, here is the link.   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. Since the creation of this channel its visualization counter doesn't work, the same has been happening with the counter of this blog since its creation in 2010.      This post is a summary of the book with the incomplete title above. It was published in December of 2025 at https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2025/12/social-mobility-and-inequality-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean_8f724a1b/428fa0a6-en.pdf

                Despite real progress over the past few decades, Latin America still live with a paradox: a region bursting with talent, creativity, and energy, yet held back by some of the world's deepest inequality traps. Education is the most powerful engine humanity has ever invented for reversing these patterns. And the region has made serious strides: primary education has 97% of children enrolled. But as students move up the system, the funnel narrows sharply. More than one in three young people have not completed secondary school by age 23. And only a quarter finish tertiary education. In a century where education is the new passport, too many people are traveling without one. International assessment like PISA hold up a mirror, and the reflection is sobering. In PISA 2022, three out of four students in the region did not reach basic proficiency in math. Disparities in access to quality education, opportunities for skills development, and pathways to productive employment remain among the most significant barriers to prosperous societies. Drawing on internationally comparable data, evidence, and policy analysis, this report assesses the progress made across L.A. countries while also shedding light on the challenges that continue to demand urgent attention. The skill gap is closely linked to economic outcomes. The strong influence of parental education on skill aquisition indicates a persistent intergenerational trasnmission of status. Low educational attainment and skills often restrict individuals to low-quality jobs, informal sector, a situation that increases their risk of poverty and affects two-thirds of households in the region. Comparable to L.A. regions such as East Asia have successfully increased general skills levels and social mobility, while reducing poverty through investments in education between the 1960s and 1990s. Countries like Singapore and South Korea transformed their economies by prioritising education. Despite the evidence that links education and inclusive economic growth, public expenditure on education is relatively low in L.A. In 2021, L.A. governments allocated an average of 3.8% of their nation's GDP to education, comparable to 5% in OECD countries. This level is more comparable to Central Africa, which devoted 3.3% of their GDP to education that year. While important, increasing public expenditure on education is only one part of the puzzle. Better administration of schools, greater flexibility combined with more accountability, a modern system of evaluation and incentives, can improve the return on current expenditures. The right to education entails striving for high-quality education that ensures equality and inclusion. It is crucial to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, to help them remain in education. Access to quality education and opportunities for skills development are crucial for promoting inclusive growth in L.A. For education systems in L.A. to produce a skilled and productive workforce that propels social mobility, they must prioritise both high quality and equitable access. This means ensuring that success is not determined by a student's socio-economic background. To counteract these challenges, countries in the region should focus on increasing their education spending and, more critically, on investing those resources wisely. Countries with similar levels of expenditure outperform L.A. nations, highlighting the need for improved resource allocation. Learning from the experiences of top-performing countries, such as Korea, could improve insights for reform. As the region moves forward, it is essential to recognise the connection between education performance and long-term well-being indicators, such as employment probabilities and tertiary attainment. Further means of enhancing the progression of disadvantaged students towards successful carrers lies in the provision of carrer pathways where students aged 15-18 undertake a programme of study focused around a broad vocational sector such as healthcare or information tecnologia. They engage in programmes in work-based learning that will ease entry into tertiary programmes or post-secondary training. Skills are essential for tackling inequalities and ensuring that no one is left behind in and rapidly changing world. Skills are key for individuals and particularly vulnerable groups to adapt and succeed in labor markets and societies, and social mobility depends greatly on equipping individuals with the right skills at the right time. L.A. has made enormous achievements in education and skills, particularly through enrollment rates in education. However, challenges remain for effective skills development and use. Moving towards a future-ready skills system will require a strategic approach to skills policies.