Young People Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET): Concepts, Consequences and Policy Approaches
Young people that are not in employment, education or training (NEET) may face increased poverty risk, social exclusion, labour market scarring and adverse health consequences. Reducing the number of NEETs is a major policy priority in the European Union. The target of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan is to reduce the NEET rate to 9 per cent by 2030, and this is supported by a considerable amount of EU funding. In this paper, we begin by discussing the NEET concept, paying particular attention to the heterogeneity of individuals contained within this group. We then review the international literature on the causes and consequences of NEET status. Following this, we provide an overview of the evidence on policy interventions targeting NEETs, with a particular focus on the recent literature on labour market activation in Ireland. Tailoring policies towards NEETs is difficult due to the heterogeneity within this group, and as such, we discuss specific policies that may be targeted towards different NEET subgroups. Finally, we discuss emerging labour market trends and their potential impact on NEETs. We begin by discussing the potential impact of technological change on NEETs, before moving on to more specific areas including the green economy, remote working, and the platform economy. The evidence on their impact is relatively underdeveloped and represents an important avenue for future research.
Review paper on state-of-the-art of living wage & re-/ up-skilling policies for NEETs
The purpose of this review paper is twofold. First, it aims to provide a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art knowledge regarding income schemes to alleviate poverty (mainly Minimum Income Schemes) in Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain both at a national and a regional level. Second, the paper dives into policies addressed to the young NEETs which aim at closing the existing skill gap in the labour market of the four aforementioned countries. Within those countries, some particular less developed EEA peripherical regions are presented throughout the analysis. Those are categorised as either tourism-dependent economies or economies in energy transition as a result of the decarbonisation process of certain regions.
Paper on impact of youth employment policies for NEETs through alternative sectors
This output will build upon previous outputs, to assess the impact of youth employment policies for NEETs through alternative economic sectors with potential for sharing/co-working across peripheral EEA regions. There will be a focus on economic sectors with potential for alternative policies (e.g. socially-centered platform economy / co-working spaces). A key input for this will be the review paper (output 8). By combining this with the evidence from output 3, we will provide broad indicators and methodologies assessing the impact of youth employment policies. The effectiveness of such policies will also be examined in light of the insights gained from output 7 regarding the drivers of youth employment in Europe.
Paper on minimum wage and living wage policies in peripheral European countries
The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed review of the impact of minimum wage increases in peripheral EEA countries. The paper focuses primarily on Ireland, Greece and Spain. For Spain, the study presents two case studies: the first one reviews the employment impact of the 2019 minimum wage reform undertaken in the country; the second one provides a review on recent literature analyzing wage conditions amongst the Spanish youth and how these relate to the living wage for the past decade. The case of Italy is briefly discussed, as the country does not have a statutory minimum wage but, instead, it is common that wage floors are set by collective bargaining agreements. This study, in turn, aims to contribute to the public debate on minimum wage increases with a comprehensive comparison of the heterogeneous effects across countries, but also for different groups within each country.
Youth employment amid successive crises and the low-carbon transition: the case of Eurozone’s coal regions
This paper addresses the profound implications of successive crises, including the long-term effects of the pandemic and ongoing energy transitions on local labour regimes (LLRs). It specifically focuses on the intensified structural challenges faced by vulnerable groups, with a keen focus on the youth. Employing a theoretically-informed, mixed-methods, approach the study first analyses secondary (youth) employment and economic data from coal regions across the Eurozone. By comparing these regions, and considering their national contexts, the research sheds light on the uneven LLRs and the changing dynamics of youth labour markets. To that end, we focus on Western Macedonia in Greece,
one of the most lagging coal regions, relying on primary data collected during 2021-2022 through focus groups and interviews with key informants, energy workers and locals.
The conceptualisation of the energy transition as a socio-ecological fix yields valuable insights into how capitalist mechanisms pursue novel avenues for profiting from nature while providing temporary solutions to imminent crises, all the while maintaining established power relations.
The research findings indicate persisting inequalities in coal-related LLRs, which are influenced by fragmented labour markets, subsequently impacting the participation of young people in the workforce. In this context, the significance of the just transition concept diminishes, as the dominant business-as-usual model takes precedence, resulting in the emergence of multiple conflicts primarily rooted in concerns of green land grabbing practises and youth drain from coal regions.
Status: accepted for publication
Youth labour markets in the Southern European Union, 2009-2021: deciphering trajectories of resilience through a decade of consecutive crises
This paper adopts a Geographical Political Economy perspective to critically investigate how successive economic crises occurring from 2009 onwards (including the COVID-19 pandemic) affected youth labour markets in Greece, Italy, and Spain. To do so, it first calculates a Resilience Index for three youth employment types (total, part-time, and temporary employment). It then employs Shift-Share Analysis to quantify the effect of national trends, sectoral dynamism, and local characteristics upon total youth employment changes. After identifying those regions that have exhibited resilience or lack thereof and the underlying reasons for their trajectories, the paper outlines a typology of regional youth labour markets’ resilience and examines their dynamics. Specifically, the paper examines the effect of path dependencies, structural deficiencies, and labour polarisation on resilience outcomes, concluding that each has steered in different ways the regional youth labour markets examined towards either bouncing back shortly after recessive shocks or developing mechanisms of adaptation amidst recession. Closing, the paper discusses the role of work flexibilisation in shaping resilience, finding that whilst it may contribute to coping/adaptation capacities under certain conditions, it does not guarantee them.
Status: accepted for publication
Labour Market Dynamics of Minimum Wage Workers
Ireland is the only country in Europe with a direct question in its Labour Force Survey to identify minimum wage employees. By combining this with the longitudinal component of the Labour Force Survey, we examine the labour market transitions of minimum wage employees over a period of up to five quarters. After one quarter, just over half of minimum wage employees are still on minimum wage while 28 percent have moved to higher pay. After one year, almost half have moved to higher pay, with just one-third remaining on minimum wage. Employees that move to higher pay are more likely to change jobs compared to those that stay on minimum wage. Despite this, the majority (almost 90 percent) of minimum wage employees that transition to higher pay do so with the same employer. We employ a dynamic random effects probit model to estimate the degree of genuine state dependence of minimum wage employment. While there is some degree of true state dependence, much of the persistence in minimum wage employment is due to observed and unobserved heterogeneity, whereby minimum wage employees possess characteristics that result in them entering, and staying on, minimum wage. Our results also indicate that minimum wage employees are about five times more likely than higher paid employees to transition into economic inactivity. However, the majority of these are young people in education, and as such may not be overly concerning to policymakers.
Status: under review
The long-lasting scar of bad jobs in the Spanish labour market
The paper explores the incidence of a potential living wage in Spain on the youth’s labour trajectories over the short, medium and long term. Drawing on the European Social Charter’s definition of living wages, the aim of the paper is threefold. First, to analyse the youth’s share below the country’s living wage. Second, for those whose annual earnings are below the living wage, to explore the drivers of this situation by analysing three labour market components, namely their hourly wages, unemployment spells and/or part-time spells. Third, to quantify the potential “scarring effects” left by low annual earnings on the future labour trajectories of the youth. Fourth, the paper will conclude by setting out potential policy responses.
Status: under review
