Youth Labour Research Articles

Management and financing of the self-employment in the youth labor market: The developing country case study

The main objective of this research is to determine and analyze the impact of labor market management and financing in Kosovo, with a particular emphasis on labor market financing in the age group 18–24 years in Kosovo. In order to enrich this paper, a field survey was conducted, and the data were analyzed using comparative and empirical analysis. The findings of the study indicate that financial support for self-employment among young people in Kosovo is very low or negative, despite the fact that the regression coefficients of the variables in this study are statistically stable. In 2020, the youth unemployment rate in Western Balkan countries was over 26%, but it was much higher in Kosovo, at around 50% (Ramhorst, 2021). A significant portion of the young population, or approximately 48.6%, is unemployed, but the most pronounced unemployment is among women in this age group, which is approximately 53.5% compared to men at approximately 46.1% (Kosovo Agency of Statistics [KAS], 2021). The study recommends that labor market policymakers implement long-term labor market policies in order to create new jobs for young people in Kosovo, where employment is quite low, and so on.

The Impact of Digital Technologies on the Labor Market of Belarusian Youth

The article examines the impact of modern digitalization processes on the youth labor market in Belarus within the framework of the risk theory. This made it possible to assess the possible negative consequences of digitalization and to determine the ways to regulate them. On the empirical base of data analysis of two studies of youth, conducted with the participation of the authors, the contradictory influence of digitalization on the youth labor market is highlighted: the characteristics of the youth professional trajectories and labor values are described. The article also discusses the possibilities for the develop-ment of entrepreneurial initiatives and the information and communication environment of modern youth. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of risks in the youth labor market: the imbalance of supply and demand, unemployment, the emergence of new forms of labor relations. It is concluded that the key to the problem of balancing the youth labor market is the modernization of the education system in accordance with the requirements of digital transformation: focus on the formation of the students’ digital competencies; introduction of new information technologies (IT) in the educational process, etc. Improvement of the institutional conditions for doing business can enhance youth activity in entrepreneurship and allow young people to successfully adapt to new forms of labor relations.

An Analysis of Fertility Elasticity of Female Youth Unemployment in Korea and Japan

Purpose: This study compared the effects of youth unemployment on fertility in Korea and Japan. Specifically, the analysis aims to find out the income effect and substitution effect by estimating the fertility rate elasticity of the female youth unemployment rate. Research design, data, and methodology: This study first reviews existing studies on factors that affect the fertility rate. Next, we look at the youth labor force structure and youth unemployment rate trends in Korea and Japan. The fertility rate elasticity of the female youth unemployment rate is analyzed through empirical analysis. In particular, this study focuses on estimating the effect of the unemployment rate of 15-24 year old female youth on the fertility rate in Korea and Japan. The analysis period was from 1991 to 2020. For the analysis data, OECD data were mainly used, and data were supplemented by the Statistics Bureau of Korea and the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan. The analysis method technically analyzes the youth labor force structure and youth unemployment rate trends in Korea and Japan, and estimates the effect of the female youth unemployment rate on the fertility rate in both countries. Specifically, the simple linear (OLS) model was regression-analyzed using the R program. Results: In Korea and Japan, it was found that whenever the youth unemployment rate increased, it had a negative (-) effect on the fertility rate. The fertility elasticity of female youth unemployment is less than 1 in both countries, but it is twice as large in Japan as in Korea. When unemployment of young women increases, income decreases and the fertility rate falls, so the income effect appears to have a relatively large effect. Implications: Both Korea and Japan will need to focus their policy efforts on solving female youth unemployment in order to raise the fertility rate. In Korea, the fertility elasticity of youth unemployment is lower than that in Japan, so it is estimated that the fertility rate is relatively affected by factors other than the youth unemployment rate compared to Japan. Therefore, it is expected that other factors, such as economic stimulus and institutional improvement, can improve the fertility rate in Korea.

Coal exploitation and income inequality: Testing the resource curse with econometric analyses of household survey data from northwestern China

AbstractCoal resources have always been an important driving force for macroeconomic growth and GDP growth in resource‐rich regions. However, this growth has also caused inequality of household income in developing regions. Using survey data on rural household livelihoods in Shenmu county, Shaanxi Province, in northwestern China, this paper analyzes the relationship between coal exploitation and income inequality. Four multivariate econometric analyses are developed. We find evidence for the resource curse theory of natural resource exploitation leading to inequality: the Gini coefficient for household revenue is discovered to be markedly related with the location of and participation in coal exploitation. Nevertheless, this correlation is not linear. Rather, household income inequality primitively rises with environmental and resource subsidies. We analyze the impacts of household income inequality and contrast the characteristics of household livelihood and location characteristics in the coal exploitation site of northern Shenmu with those in the whole survey site. Our statistical analysis shows that out‐migration, the level of total household income, and convenience of household transportation are the important elements devoting to household income in northern Shenmu, the coal resources endowment region. However, the environmental damage and pollution caused by coal exploitation has substantial negative impacts upon household income, especially for households not participating in coal activities. Overall, we found that coal exploitation did not develop local industries. Adversely, the ecological environment problem and the high subsidy for coal mining caused by the exploitation of coal resources have aggravated the inequality of household income in the sample areas. Additionally, the development of coal resources attracted youth labor from agriculture to the coal industry, which exacerbated the lack of labor force and weakened village agricultural productivity.

Career Motivation in the Process of State Regulation of Youth Employment

Purpose: The main objective of the study is to find new methods for the state promotion of career motivation in the process of providing youth employment.Design/Methodology/Approach: To accomplish the research objectives, a set of mutually reinforcing general scientific and special research methods was used.The basic statistical analyses of unemployment rate data according to the methodology of the International Labour Organization, while the level of registered unemployment (the national indicator of the unemployment rate in Ukraine) serves as an indicator of the State Employment Service performance.Findings: A detailed analysis of career motivation theories and the technology of servicing potentially unemployed people helped justify the feasibility of applying a communicative and psychological method in employment center specialists’ work with their clients, in particular the youth. Thus, a number of measures were identified and proposed in order to better encourage employment and increase the effectiveness of career motivation.Practical Implications: In the course of the research, the development trends in the youth labour market of Ukraine were estimated, the main causes for youth unemployment were determined, and the value orientations and characteristics of modern youth were analysed. The importance of employment services focusing on effective communication with their clients to motivate them for successful employment and self-development is substantiated. The issues of young people’s migration activity, which can have a negative effect on the economic development of the country and increase the socio-demographic risks to national security, need a detailed scientific study.Originality/Value: Currently, the science of public administration does not pay due attention to the role of public institutions in providing career motivation or to the legal consolidation of the measures that motivate productive work. A vast majority of research works on professional motivation and career development were conducted by scientists from the fields of pedagogy, psychology and social economy. These works reveal the essence of pedagogical education and the peculiarities of human psychological influence, yet fail to define the role of the state as the main social institution which should lay the basis for youth development and encouragement to employment. This renders the topic of the present study relevant.

Lost in recessions: youth employment and earnings in Spain

Young workers in Spain face the unprecedented impact of the Great Recession and the COVID-19 crisis in short sequence. Moreover, they have also experienced a deterioration in their employment and earnings over the last three decades. In this paper, we document this evolution and adopt a longitudinal approach to show that employment and earnings losses suffered by young workers during recessions are not made up in the subsequent expansions. We also estimate the size of the scarring effects of entering the job market in a recession for college-educated workers during their first decade in the labor market. Our empirical estimates indicate that while there is some evidence of scarring effects, the driving force is a trend worsening of youth labor market outcomes.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN EUROPE – BUSINESS CYCLES, CRISES, AND POLICY RESPONSES

Purpose: The goal of the paper is to analyse in which countries’ youth unemployment is statistically pro or countercyclical and how crises in the last decade have affected it. What would the plausible explanations for diverging patterns within the EU and other European countries be? In what terms is the young people’s labour market across Europe imbalanced?
 Methodology: The paper builds on Gontkovicova et al.’s (2015) analysis of correlations between GDP growth and youth unemployment on an annual basis by adding more indicators and considering the quarterly basis as well. The quantitative approach is enriched by qualitative insights on Southeast European countries studied within the Erasmus+ YouthCap project (CRA, 2020).
 Findings: Most of the countercyclical youth unemployment trends in the last 20 years are observed in Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia). From Western European countries Iceland, Denmark and Portugal are countercyclical. The most resilient countries in terms of COVID-19 are North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Iceland, which were able to reduce youth unemployment during the coronavirus crisis (Q3 in 2019 and 2020). Plausible policy reactions have been identified based on the concept of learning societies and the need for continuous education.
 Practical implications: The paper argues why localised policy responses could be more effective than a centralised solution. However, increased coordination and standardisation of secondary and higher education could lead to increased youth labour migration.
 Originality/value: The paper combines a more traditional quantitative approach to the most recent data series with the qualitative approach of identifying various micro-trends by looking at selected outlier countries.

Прекаризация занятости молодежи в контексте последствий пандемии COVID-19

Objective: to assess the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the youth labor market in the context of the spread of precarization processes in employment.Methods: qualitative methods were used to analyze labor market institutions, together with in-depth interviews and interpretative analysis of actors’ discourses.Results: the COVID-2019 pandemic posed new challenges to the economy and contributed to the active development of new employment formats and employer-employee interaction in the form of informal employment, freelance platforms, and precariat development. The article considers the features and risks of informal and non-standard employment. Based on the labor market analysis, we determined the impact of the pandemic on working conditions, inequality growth and the increasing role of the informal sector. The impact of the crisis on employment conditions for young people with higher education is particularly emphasized. To form the models of students’ behavior under the conditions of labor market instability, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with students and graduates of the Southern Federal University to assess the employment opportunities of university graduates. The characteristics of respondents’ perception of the processes associated with precarization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences are clarified and specified. Scientific novelty: it consists in the development of theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of precarization of youth employment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences. It is shown that the observed increase of employment precarization is associated with behavioral features caused by dominant behavioral models and distortions in the perception of unstable employment by university graduates in relation to the structural opportunities provided by the labor market.Practical significance: the identified features of employment of the Russian university graduates can be used to develop recommendations for improving the system for monitoring the employment precarization level in the regional labor markets.

Genesis and prerequisites for the emergence of youth parliamentarism in the Russian Federation

The object of this research is the regional youth representative structures, while the subject is the establishment of youth parliamentary structures in the Russian Federation. The research leans on the methodology of historical neo-institutionalism with the “path dependence” approach. Attention is turned to studying the topic from the perspective of the need of federal and regional government in young personnel, substantiated by the shortage of competent specialists as a result of social disturbances. The empirical basis of this research is the interview with the former governor of Vologda Region (from 1996 to 2011) Vyacheslav Pozgalev, who was among the pioneers of the youth parliamentary movement. The novelty of this lies in examination of the phenomenon of youth parliamentarism in historical aspect. The date of creation of the first youth parliamentary body in Russia is established. The author determines five key prerequisites for the emergence of youth parliamentarism in the Russian Federation: European Charter; proliferation of the Western democratic values; political situation in the country; need for conventional self-expression of youth and creation of the filter for the youth labor pool. These prerequisites contributed the emergence and development of the institutions for expressing the political demands of the youth in the context of continuous dialogue ion with the federal and local government.

Meet the need – the role of vocational education and training for the youth labour market

AbstractTo combat negative trends in the youth labour market, policymakers around the world support vocational education and training (VET) programmes. This paper investigates how enrolment rates in upper‐secondary education programmes – general education, school‐based VET and dual VET – affect ten youth labour market indicators on integration and job quality. We run first‐difference generalized method of moments regressions on panel data of 36 countries for 2004 through 2014. We complement the existing literature by dealing with unobserved heterogeneity across time and reverse causality and by analysing non‐linear effects that might arise due to general equilibrium effects. Our findings show that school‐based VET and dual VET have different effects: school‐based VET's effect on the labour market depends on the outcome indicator and country, whereas dual VET overall improves both labour market integration and job quality. Depending on the labour market indicator, we find evidence for both linear and non‐linear effects. In educational reforms, policymakers should therefore consider the non‐linear and heterogeneous effects of VET.

Scenario cognitive modeling of development trends of the complexity system “youth, labor market, quality of life”

Conducting research on the quality of life of young people and the impact on it of such a significant factor as the youth labor market, as well as related research on the problems of state support for young people, require the use of simulation methods due to the incompleteness of information and poorly structured problems of such complex systems as the quality of life of young people and the labor market. The article gives a brief overview of the categories “labor market”, “quality of life”, “youth”, which is necessary to determine the content of cognitive modeling of the complex system “youth, labor market, quality of life”. The technology of cognitive modeling is briefly presented. The results of the application of cognitive simulation modeling to the study of the quality of life of young people in relation to the labor market are presented. An example of modeling is presented in the form of a corresponding cognitive map and a number of scenarios for the possible development of situations on it, which may arise under the assumed influence of various social and economic factors, as well as under the influence of regulatory and control systems.

“(IM)MOBILE PRECARITY” AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

Mobility for work and education among young people has been a key feature of contemporary life. Drawing on focus groups with youth living in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as key informant interviews with people who work for community-based organizations that serve youth, I examine the relationship between young people’s employment- and education-related geographical mobilities and precarity. I draw on recent insights from scholars examining precarity as grounded in both labouring conditions and ontological experience. In foregrounding the experiences and subjectivities of poor and working-class youth, I show how the structure of youth labour markets and of education and training cheapens youth labour, with implications for youth’s capacity for independence. In a context of broader regimes of mobility associated with resource extraction, young people without formal qualifications live precarious lives: they move from job to job and place to place, and rely on family and friends to support their housing and other needs. In this context of uncertainty and labour market volatility, youth expressed disorientation regarding decisions about work, education, and mobility, reflecting the high stakes of not making the “right” choice, and developed a pragmatic approach to work as a way to make a living rather than a pathway to a meaningful life. I conclude by situating these findings as a critique not just of precarity but of capitalist economic arrangements more broadly, with implications for the kinds of solutions that can address structural class inequalities.

Problems of youth in the labor market in modern conditions

The article investigates a modern state of youth employment in the labor market. The purpose of the article is to consider of youth segment in the labor market, to study the dynamics of youth employment in recent years and to develop proposals for improving the state of youth employment in Ukraine. Current trends in youth employment and unemployment in the labor market are analyzed. In the process of analysis, such methods of scientific research as analysis and synthesis, comparison and generalization were used, which made it possible to ensure the validity of the study. Based on the results of youth employment issues analysis, the main problems faced by young people in finding a job (specific problems in the youth segment of the labor market) are determined, namely: imperfection of the legal framework that regulates labor relations; young people after graduation cannot put their skills and abilities into practice; imbalance in the professional and qualification structure of the labor supply, which does not correspond to the demand in the labor market; lack of professional experience among young people; gender inequality by sex and age; labor migration due to the non-competitiveness of wages in Ukraine compared to wages in Europe. For a systematic solution to the problems of youth labor market, it is necessary to improve the existing mechanism for increasing the level of youth employment, thereby a new impetus will appear for the development of the Ukrainian economy. The main directions of improving the state regulation of the youth segment of the labor market in Ukraine are proposed, namely: the creation of effective interaction between public employment agencies, business and education. An improvement and systemic implementation of the mechanism for increasing youth employment will reduce the outflow of labor force abroad and ensure the competitiveness of the national economy in the long term.

Work and Life Balance of the Change Generation: Results of The V St Petersburg International Youth Labour Forum

On the 21st of April 2021 in Saint Petersburg there was an anniversary International Youth Labour Forum, which once again united young people, representatives of business, education and government officials to discuss the situation on the labour market and offer solutions for the career development of Generation Z. At the scientific Conference “Life and Labor balance of Generation Z” held within the framework of the Forum, the main values of modern youth and their career strategies were discussed.

Assessment of the current status of youth employment in Kazakhstan and the system of its state support

The purpose of the study is to analyze the current state of the youth labor market in Kazakhstan and its main indicators, consider and assess the mechanism of functioning of the system of state support for youth employment; also in reviewing the possibilities of government programs aimed at combating unemployment, including youth unemployment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.The research methodology includes statistical and economic, dialectical and comparative methods that were used in writing this scientific article. Since statistical and economic methods are a set of methods used in a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of the development of certain economic processes, in this article, using the method under consideration, indicators of youth employment in Kazakhstan were grouped, statistical information was developed and analyzed, and also with the help of graphs and diagrams, the analysis results are displayed and assessed the state of the youth labor market. And with the help of the dialectical method, the state of development of economic processes in the labor market, in particular the relationship and interaction between the elements of the mechanism of state support was revealed. Using the comparative method, a comparative analysis of the indicators of the youth labor market and the experience of the functioning of the mechanism of state regulation, as well as the dynamics of changes in the indicators of youth unemployment over a five-year period was carried out.The originality / value of the study lies in a comprehensive analysis of youth employment indicators in Kazakhstan for 2015-2019 and an assessment of the mechanism for the functioning of state programs and other elements of the state regulation system aimed at supporting the youth labor market in the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.Findings - main focus andfindings of the article. The research results are related to the analysis of the main indicators of the youth labor market in Kazakhstan and the identification of the main priorities of social policy aimed at improving the system of state support for youth employment.

COVID-19 Risks and Effects on the Women, Children and Resource-Dependent Communities in the Case of Extractive Industry 2020 in Tanzania

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a shared global socio-economic struggle against an invisible public health enemy. Not only women, children and resource-dependent communities are contracting COVID-19, but also they are among the most severely impacted socio-economic entities. The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly affecting the everyday lives of women, child laborers and resource-dependent communities. Their physical and mental health, their social and the economic circumstances are also adversely affected. Social distancing requirements, business closures and travel restrictions associated with COVID-19 have all led to a drop in socio-economic activities, the losses of incomes and livelihoods, and increased household poverty. The paper assesses the level of risks for women, children and resource-dependent communities in the COVID-19 situation in the extractive sector in Tanzania. This descriptive paper uses results of the HR field research survey of 2020 that included stakeholders’ workshop, intensive desk study or literature review, field research surveys, data management and policy analysis.
 The viruses that cause COVID-19 have high health risks of effecting and affecting people of all ages, gender, races and nations. The levels of risks for women violence, child and youth labour unemployment and resource-dependent communities are high.
 The paper recommends that the government and all extractive sector companies should ensure there is no child labour and should enhance youth employment. It is also recommended that children be protected from all possible health hazards. Extractive industries have to create employment opportunities for both male and female youths. All the extractive sector firms have to embark on sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility strategies so as to minimize COVID-19 risks to all resource-dependent communities.

Sub-national union coverage and the youth's labor market outcomes: evidence from a national survey in Vietnam

PurposeThis paper examines the effects of sub-national union coverage on the youth's labor market outcomes.Design/methodology/approachIn the context of the private business sector in Vietnam, this study link individual labor market data with union coverage at provincial level in the period 2013–2016 to investigate the effects of sub-national union coverage on the youth's labor market outcomes. Contingent on the outcome variable, we use the OLS and probit model that control for diverse individual characteristics, year- and industry-fixed effects, and particularly control for selection bias in the labor market.FindingsThe empirical results show that the union coverage is positively associated with a wide range of the youth's labor market outcomes, including employment status, wage rate, work hour, and job formality. Also, the coverage is complementary to individual labor contract in determining the youth's wage rate.Practical implicationOur empirical results indicate positive associations between union coverage and the youth's multi-dimensional labor market outcomes, which contribute to this young age cohort's smooth school-to-work transition, provided that the role of trade union is challenged both in developing and developed countries.Originality/valueThis study provides an in-depth study on the interplay between trade union and the youth's labor market outcomes that contributes to the literature of labor market institutions and youth employment policies in a dynamic transitional economy of Vietnam.

Determinants of Youth Labour Absorption in Indonesia

This study aims to determine how: the provincial minimum wage affects youth labour absorption in Indonesia; the regional economic conditions affect youth labour absorption in Indonesia; the level of education affects youth labour absorption in Indonesia; the effects of elderly people working on youth labour absorption in Indonesia; and the type of work elderly people do affects youth labour absorption in Indonesia. The data used in this study issecondary data from the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), namely Sakernas of 2008-2018 with panel data type. Data was analysed using panel data regression analysis. The results show that several variables have a significant effect on employment opportunities for youth labour, namely the Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP), the Basic Education Level of Young Workers, the Secondary Education Level of Young Workers, and the Higher Education Level of Young Workers. These mean that there is no trade off between elderly and young workers. It could be because of the job positions in these two age groups are likely to be different, so that there is no positions’ substitution for elderly and young workers, and the positions entered by these elderly workers are positions that require a fairly high work experience.

Problem of labor migration of youth in Kazakhstan

The purpose of the study is to analyze the issues of labor migration of young people in Kazakhstan. The article identifies the main causes of labor migration of young people to other countries, proves that improvements of the labor market of young people, the problem of labor migration of young people should not remain without the attention of the state. The information source of the study was taken as a basis for the analysis of data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To solve the tasks, systematic and logical approaches, methods of analysis, deduction, and induction to form a general idea of the state of youth migration in the Kazakhstan labor market were used. The categories of migration and its economic content are considered, which allows to characterize the essence of labor migration. The scientific and practical significance of the study is that the conclusions obtained in the course of the study are applicable to the problem of labor migration of young people and its solution, make a significant contribution to the development of the labor market economy. The article analyzes the problems of youth labor migration in Kazakhstan, identifies the main causes of youth labor migration to other countries, and suggests the need for a state solution to the problem of youth labor migration in improving the youth labor market.

Meeting in the Middle: TVET Programs’ Education–Employment Linkage at Different Stages of Development

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs are most successful at supporting youth labor markets when they combine education and employment. Education–employment linkage theory describes this combination in terms of power-sharing between actors from the education system and their counterparts in the employment system over key processes in the curriculum value chain of curriculum design, curriculum application (program delivery), and curriculum updating. The Education–Employment Linkage Index measures linkage for every function in a TVET program where actors from the two systems interact, aggregating those into processes and phases and eventually an index score. We apply this index to the largest upper-secondary TVET programs in Benin, Chile, Costa Rica, and Nepal. We find that Benin has relatively high education–employment linkage, while the other three countries score very low. Benin’s situation is unique because its TVET program is moving from employer-led to linked, rather than the typical employer integration into an education-based program. Other countries with large informal economies, low formal education and training rates, and existing non-formal employer-led training may be able to implement similar approaches.