The education/employment situations of young people in Mexico and South Asia are examined as part of a project to broaden perspectives on social, educational, and employment issues in developing nations. In Mexico, economic growth between 1940 and 1970 was considerably greater than achievement of social goals such as full employment and educational opportunity. Educational and occupational problems include a high dropout rate, low percentage of students enrolled in institutions of higher education, illiteracy, an insufficient number of primary schools, lack of vocational training programs, and decrease in jobs due to labor saving processes. Prospects for improvement in the education/employment picture are not good due to the unrealistically heavy tax load which would be required to create more jobs and more schools. In the countries of South Asia--Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan--education is characterized by a large proportion of youth not enrolled in school, a high dropout rate, unequal opportunities between urban and rural areas, between males and females, and between rich and poor people. The broad employment picture indicates that the large majority of youths in the labor force are illiterate or semiliterate, living in rural areas, and striving to meet basic living needs by working in agriculture and other rural occupations. In spite of governmental schemes for social development, the massive deprivation and unequal opportunities remain problems for the large majority of youths. (DB)