engleski

What drives youth unemployment in Europe? Economic vs non‐economic determinants

This article explores the main determinants of youth unemployment in Europe in the period 2002 to 2014 by estimating panel data models for the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU). Heterogeneity is acknowledged by estimating models for subsamples of countries with “high” and “low” youth unemployment rates. The main results suggest that youth unemployment is more pronounced in countries with poor GDP growth, a low share of construction activity and high public debt. Reduced mobility (owing to homeownership), corruption, reception of a high level of remittances and a lack of possibilities for young people to live outside parental homes are also important factors.

labour market ; youth unemployment ; panel data models ; recession ; Europe

An earlier version of this article received the 2015 Olga Radzyner Award from the Austrian Central Bank (OeNB). This research is an element of the ZAMAH project, which studies the impact of the recession on the structure and flow of youth unemployment in Croatia. The project is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) of the European Union (EU). The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institutions cited above.