The Economic Value of Opportunity Youth

Many of America’s youth are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market – they are not investing in their human capital or earning income. We calculate the economic burden of these ‘opportunity youth’ from the perspective of both the taxpayer and society. We also calculate the immediate burden – that which is incurred when a person is aged 16-24 – and the future burden – that which is incurred over the rest of his or her adult lifetime.