Youth Unemployment Research Articles

The socioeconomic dimensions of BRICS: a comparative analysis over three decades 1990 to 2020

BRICS countries are not only striving to gain more political and economic clouts in the developing world but are also influencing global governance. However, each one is facing its own economic concerns and challenges. For instance, India has been witnessing a severe economic slowdown, while Brazil is maintaining a low growth rate along with persistent high inflation and unemployment problems. South Africa has been mired with low growth rate, rising youth unemployment, high debt and inequality. China has been suffering from a sluggish growth on account of the trade war with the US, and Russia has massively suffered from US and EU sanctions. Despite these problems, they are trying to lay a robust foundation of cooperation with the countries in the Global South amid their rising discontent over perceived Western dominance of the global institutions. With this background, our main focus here is to comprehend socioeconomic dimensions from a comparative assessment to develop an understanding and visualize their relative developmental positions over the last three decades (1990 to 2020). Analyzing the data, the study clearly observes visible diversities within them. While China’s socioeconomic dimensions have improved remarkably, followed by India, South Africa could achieve relatively only with minimal success. It demonstrates that certain BRICS countries while achieving significant strides in their socioeconomic development outcomes, others are encumbered and struggling with challenges over the last three decades (1990 to 2020) without witnessing similar success and yet to overcome those challenges. The uneven economic progress of economies needs to be addressed by individual economies by laying down efficient economic policies, which have been falling short of the average progress in any economic development parameters if their economic and social cooperation needs to be strengthened towards achieving higher economic progress by mutually benefitting from their stronger socioeconomic ties and simultaneously exert greater influence in the world stage.

Graduates Without Jobs: Understanding the Situation of Unemployed Kachin Youth in Myanmar

Graduates Without Jobs: Understanding the Situation of Unemployed Kachin Youth in Myanmar

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AS A PREREQUISITE FOR CREATING A FAMILY IN THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES

The article is devoted to the study of ways to overcome youth unemployment and identify the main factors of successful youth employment in Denmark as an effective Scandinavian model, given the need to increase the efficiency of youth employment in Ukraine as a factor of readiness to start a family. It is found that the leading factor that determines the readiness of young people to start a family is socio-economic, which involves acquiring a profession and successful implementation in the labour market. It has been established that full employment of the young population as one of the strategic objectives of the Danish government has been successfully implemented in recent decades. It is found that the youth policy implemented at the level of Danish municipalities is based on the values enshrined in international conventions, national and local legislation and is in line with their strategic documents. These include: taking into account the diversity of needs, interests, abilities, talents of young people; creating policies for young people and with the active participation of young people; aiming to increase opportunities for the development of social, personal and professional potential of young people; affirming equal value and equal rights for all; paying special attention to children and young people in vulnerable or disadvantaged situations, children and young people with disabilities; creating a high-quality democratic educational environment for children and young people. It has been determined that municipal youth initiatives are often experimental in nature, and their mechanisms are based on preventive, early intervention with broad involvement of young people in the discussion in the decision-making process in communities. The study identified the key factors for successful youth employment and overcoming youth unemployment in Denmark. It is concluded that there is a need for a thorough study of the best practices of developed countries in employment policy, systematisation of initiatives and combination of approaches in the youth segment of the labour market in order to develop and implement mechanisms for creating favourable conditions for increasing youth employment in Ukraine.

Characteristics of the labor market in Croatia and contemporary external migration

The paper analyzes the characteristics of the labor market in Croatia, the changes in the demographic potential of the working-age population, and the structural determinants of the labor system. The movement of the number of able-bodied, active and inactive population from 2013 until today, points to a trend of decreasing the able-bodied contingent, economic activity and unemployment of the population, and an increase in employment. The analysis showed that the structural problems on the labor market in Croatia are an insufficiency of educational staff, structural unemployment, youth unemployment, and the mismatch between the supply and demand of jobs. Such characteristics of the work system influenced the movement of the determinants of external migration in Croatia, especially after 2013. Simultaneously with the strengthening of emigration, the number of immigrated persons also increases, so that from 2013 to 2022, their number amounted to about 195 thousand of mostly foreign citizens. We can establish that we are talking about free economic migrations and an increased inflow of labor, mostly unskilled workers, which makes up for the lack of domicile workforce.Structural-selective unemployment in Croatia can be analyzed on a general level according to age groups and according to education, and on a specific level, through indicators of the skills mismatch on the labor market. The total unemployment rate in Croatia has experienced a significant decline since 2013, and current unemployment is the lowest in the youngest working age, and the highest in the age over 40. Compared to 2013, the share of unemployed persons with primary and lower secondary education in Croatia is continuously decreasing, the share of unemployed persons with upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education levels is slightly falling (with frequent oscillations), while the share of unemployed persons with tertiary education is increasing. Problems on the labor market in Croatia have been noticeable after the global economic crisis of 2008 and its high unemployment, and in the last ten years also in the areas with a low level of economic activity of the population and a lack of domestic labor for the functionality of certain sectors of activity.On the other hand, the structure of the emigrant contingent, in which the young and able-bodied population predominates, points to the outflow of labor force of medium and high qualification levels. The review of research on recent emigration confirms the complex conditionality of leaving Croatia, and among the main factors a group of economic ones arising from the macroeconomic situation and structural deficiencies in the labor market stands out. In addition to economic factors, other types of factors are strengthening, which is why the continuation of the emigration of the Croatian population and the immigration of the foreign population are likely to be expected. The isolated and presented indicators and trends point to the complexity of the relationship between economic and labor factors, contemporary migration patterns and demographic characteristics of the resident population, in accordance with previous theoretical and empirical knowledge.

Entrepreneurship skills framework for fostering the employability of industrial technology students

<span lang="EN-US">The rising rate of youth unemployment and its attendant consequences on the general populace in Nigeria has assumed a frightening dimension. The academia and other relevant stakeholders have gradually come to realize that the possession of academic qualifications alone cannot guarantee a good quality job. Nigerian higher intuitions are now introducing entrepreneurship studies in their school curriculum without a clear framework. Research has shown that this does not guarantee total graduates unless we have an entrepreneurship skills framework that is functional and discipline-based. Noting that entrepreneurship is classified into two folds; entrepreneurship specific and entrepreneurship mindset, this study intends to develop an entrepreneurship skills framework that will promote the employability of the students of Electrical Technology in Colleges of Education in Nigeria. The survey research that employs the sequential exploratory mixed methods was used for the study. The population for this phase consists of entrepreneurs and academics in Nigeria. The use of the partial credit model in the Rasch analysis model guaranteed the consensus of the experts on each of the items being measured. The outcome of the study will contribute to the social-economic peace and sustainability in Nigeria and the body of knowledge in entrepreneurship regarding electrical technology.</span>

Role and importance of Egypt in regional geopolitics

The article analyzes the role and significance of the Arab Republic of Egypt in regional geopolitics at the present stage. The author pays special attention to the specific role of its armed forces, which not only perform tasks to protect the state from external threats and combat terrorism,but also take an active part in the internal political and economic life of the country. The peaceful nature of Egypt's foreign policy is emphasized, Cairo's desire to take part in the work of the UN, Arab League, AU, OIC, BRICS, EU, other international and regional organizations, and to maintain mutually beneficial relations with leading world powers, Israel, Arab, African and Asian countries on a bilateral basis. Diversifi cation of Egypt's foreign policy and foreign economic relations with foreign countries, maintaining a balance of interests of all countries interested in Egypt ensure stability and progressive development of the state in all areas. The author also points out the continuing objective diffi culties and even crisis phenomena in the Egyptian economy: infl ation, devaluation of the national currency, large external borrowings, youth unemployment, loss of income from the operation of the Suez Canal, the tourism industry, etc. The next serious test for the country was the tragic events in the Gaza Strip, when the Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale military operation against the militants of the radical Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad (the latter is recognized as terrorist and is banned in Russia). The threat of an uncontrolled exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees from this Palestinian exclave to the Sinai Peninsula requires vigilance and preventive measures from Egypt's security forces. Along with this, Egypt remains one of the leaders in the Middle East, Africa, and among Muslim countries. Cairo's emphatically independent foreign policy and neutrality in regional conflicts allows it to maintain strategic partnerships with the United States while simultaneously developing relations with Russia and China in all areas.

A study exploring the impact of unemployment on the psychological well‐being of youth

AbstractUnemployment is widely recognized to cause a variety of psychosocial problems that might have a harmful impact on mental health. The study looks into the psychological well‐being of youth and their personal experiences with the unemployment. This article draws on primary sources to provide an in‐depth understanding of the effects unemployment among youth in Anantnag, Kashmir. The primary data include narratives, which are a qualitative approach that specifically emphasizes the stories of those who were unemployed. To collect the data, a demographic form and an interview guide were used. An unstructured interview schedule was employed with 25 youths with ages ranging from 21 to 32 years. Data were collected from July to August 2023. Participants were selected using the snowball sampling method. All of the participants were from Anantnag, the district in Jammu and Kashmir. As per the findings of the study, unemployment causes youth to feel worthless, lose self‐identity, feel shame, and experience stress. Given the possible detrimental effects of youth unemployment, efforts should be made to increase psychological support for unemployed youth to address mental health issues.

A Study on Unemployment rate of Youth Graduates Student in Malaysia

This study delves into the dynamics of unemployment rate among recent graduates within the first two years post-graduation. By employing Partial Least Square (PLS) as a statistical tool, the research aims to assess both the measurement and structural models, providing valuable insights into the factors influencing unemployment. This research aims to investigate how English proficiency, employability skills and job mismatch affect unemployment rate among youth graduate students in Malaysia. This quantitative research distributed an online questionnaire to collect data from 300 unemployed youth graduate students. The findings implies that English proficiency and job mismatch have significant positive relationship with unemployment rate, whereas employability skills possess a significant negative relationship with unemployment rate. The findings contribute to the continuous improvement on unemployment rate among the youth graduate students of Malaysia by English proficiency, employability skills and job mismatch

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF POLITICAL THUGGERY ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF OFU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Thuggery is a destructive force that erodes the fabric of society and breeds fear and distrust. It fosters a disregard for the rule of law and the principles of justice even as it erodes the values of empathy, compassion and respect for others, leading to a breakdown of social order. Societies afflicted by thuggery suffer from increased crime rates, reduced quality of life and a general sense of unrest and anarchy. Thuggery, especially its political variant, is a form of social violence which poses immense challenge to the security of lives and property of Nigerians and undermines the socio-economic and political development of the nation. This study interrogated the causes and effects of political thuggery on the socio-economic and political development of Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected from 384 respondents who were selected using the purposive and systematic random sampling techniques. Questionnaire, In-depth Interview (IDI) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were used to elicit data from respondents while the resultant quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22.0. The Frustration Aggression Theory was adopted to provide theoretical pathway for the study. Findings from the study attributed political thuggery in Ofu Local Government Area Kogi State Nigeria, to a plethora of factors, among which are: unemployment, frustration, and bad governance. The study recommends the initiation of aggressive skill acquisition and job creation programmes by the Kogi State Government to effectively engage the army of unemployed youth in the study area to divert them from political thuggery while law enforcement should be strengthened to prosecute state and non-state actors found to be the sponsors of thugs whom they deploy to snatch ballot papers and engage in mayhem before, during and after elections in the study area, to serve as deterrent to others.

Influence of Youth Unemployment on Youth Involvement in Crime in Kakuma Refugee Camp

Youth, constituting an estimated 70% of the total population, play pivotal roles in society due to their energy and dynamism. Conversely, a significant portion of the refugee population comprises young individuals who, despite being provided with various capacity-building programs, sometimes find themselves involved in criminal activities. The study sought to assess the influence of youth unemployment on youth involvement in Crime in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Employing a descriptive research design, the study was guided by Strain theory. The target population included refugees, host community members operating businesses within the study area, government officials, and officials from humanitarian agencies implementing projects in refugee settlements. Stratified random sampling was utilized to select South Sudanese sub-clans, while purposive sampling was employed to select security officers and stakeholders from various departments. Data collection involved the use of questionnaires and interviews, gathering responses from 125 and 20 respondents, respectively. Primary data was obtained through questionnaires and interviews with government officers working in the camp, such as those from the Department of Refugee Services (DRS), law enforcement officers, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), community peace and protection teams (CPPTs), and national and county government administrators overseeing the refugee camp's jurisdiction. Secondary data was sourced from scholarly journals, books, the internet, reports, newspapers, and treaties on refugees, aiding in achieving the study objectives. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics for quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data, utilizing SPSS and NVIVO software, respectively. Results were presented through tables, charts, and figures. The study found that poverty was a significant factor contributing to youth involvement in crime. Additionally, societal treatment, characterized by suspicion, victimization, lack of recognition, and disharmony influenced youth criminal behaviour. To address these issues, the study recommends that humanitarian organizations and governments provide income-generating activities for youth, intensify initiatives to alleviate community involvement in crime, foster positive societal attitudes towards youth, and provide proper guidance on avoiding negative peer influence, thereby deterring youth from joining criminal groups.

The Influence of Agricultural Learnership Programme on Graduates’ Job Prospects

Purpose: This study aims to scrutinise the effectiveness of the agricultural learnership programme at Owen Sitole College of Agriculture, focusing on the perspectives of its graduates. By exploring their experiences, the study seeks to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of learnership training. The primary goal is to assess graduates’ satisfaction with the program, its impact on their employability, the practical skills acquired, and its relevance to their current employment. Study design/methodology/approach: 42 participants were recruited for the study, and their demographic characteristics, including gender and age distribution, were analysed. Employing a mixed-method approach, the study aimed to gather comprehensive insights into participants’ experiences and perceptions of the agricultural learnership program. Findings: The findings revealed that 82.1% of the participants reported satisfaction with the agricultural learnership program at Owen Sitole College of Agriculture, highlighting its effectiveness in addressing the skill development needs of unemployed youth. However, only 56.1% of the graduates secured employment upon completion, indicating potential improvement in job placement outcomes. While most graduates gained practical experience in business skills, livestock management, and routine agricultural practices, some participants expressed the need for a stronger emphasis on acquiring professional and experiential skills. Based on the study’s outcomes, it is recommended that the program undergo tailored adjustments to better align with the specific needs of recipients, ensuring a more impactful and relevant agricultural skills development learnership training at Owen Sitole College. Originality/value: The insightful recommendations offered in this study have the potential to guide policymakers in making informed decisions, leading to improved outcomes for the targeted population involved in the learnership development. Additionally, the study contributes valuable information to the existing body of literature and can serve as a foundation for future agricultural research endeavours.

Valorizing Fruit and Vegetable Waste: The Untapped Potential for Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa—A Systematic Review

Valorizing food waste (FW) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) can enhance the efficiency of limited resources, make healthy diets more affordable, and foster the creation of innovative enterprises. The vast quantities of FW from the agri-food chain significantly threaten food security. To address this issue and maximize potential environmental and socio-economic benefits, valorizing waste, a value-adding process for waste materials, has emerged as a sustainable and efficient strategy. Valorizing FW reduces greenhouse gas emissions, mitigates climate change, enhances resource efficiency, and improves planetary health. As a pivotal player in the transition toward the circular economy, this study investigates the potential of converting FW into value-added products, offering entrepreneurial opportunities for SSA’s unemployed youth. A systematic literature review is conducted to identify and filter relevant articles over five years by applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 33 articles were included for in-depth analysis to address the study’s aim. The findings highlight a range of value-added products derived from FW, including renewable energy sources, nutraceuticals, and heavy metal adsorbents. These products present promising entrepreneurial prospects within SSA. Nonetheless, overcoming barriers to FW valorization adoption is crucial for fully realizing its potential as a profitable business avenue.

Youth Employability Training Model from the Perspective of Education Poverty Reduction in Kenya and Its Enlightenment to China

Abstract Since the 21st century, the solution of poverty has become the focus of international assistance. And education is considered as one of the important ways to reduce poverty, more and more attention by international organizations and developing countries. Kenya, as one of the countries with the backwardness but most promising economic and social development in East Africa. It has received the attention of the World Bank. With the assistance of the World Bank, the Government of Kenya launched the KYEP project on the basis of Vision 2030, which is based on the training concept of “Education poverty reduction for youth entrepreneurship and employment”, with the goal of “Empowering young people in employment”, implementing a demand-oriented “four-in-one” skills training course through cooperative training of the World Bank and the Government of Kenya and the private sector, and ensuring the effectiveness of the project through the establishment of a multi-entity cooperative training guarantee mechanism. Practice shows that KYEP highlights Kenya’s demand-oriented approach and has achieved remarkable results in addressing youth unemployment and education for poverty reduction.

Policy drivers and tools influencing the development of social enterprises in Taiwan

PurposeTaiwan promotes social enterprises with the Social Enterprise Action Plan and Social Innovation Action Plan, focusing on solving social problems and achieving sustainable development goals. This study aims to clarify the impetus for the above policies and determines whether the relevant policy tools can achieve the established policy goals.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the in-depth interview method and uses the “social impact investment framework” constructed by OEDC and Dunn’s definition of public policy stakeholders to select 22 respondents, who were divided into three groups.FindingsTaiwan’s decision-making in social enterprise policy is mainly driven by the pressure of youth unemployment and the 318-student movement. Intrinsic motivation strategies popularized the concept of social enterprise. Various strategies are used to break the limitations and diversify the organization, trigger more diverse social investments, broaden the goals of investment and complete the social enterprise ecosystem through these. Taiwan’s social enterprise policies are consistent with the global trend of “replacing subsidies with investment.”Originality/valueThis study shows that social enterprises generate mutual benefits between investors and social enterprises, that is, achieve free matching through external mechanisms. This study fills the gaps in Oliver’s “behavioral cube” framework of policy instruments. A “behavioral four-dimensional matrix” composed of nudge, shove, budge and reciprocity is proposed to complete the framework for social enterprise policy analysis tools.

How do labour market conditions explain the development of mental health over the life-course? A conceptual integration of the ecological model with life-course epidemiology in an integrative review of results from the Northern Swedish Cohort

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to contribute to the theoretical development within the field of labour market effects on mental health during life by integrating Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model with mainly earlier theoretical work on life-course theory.MethodsAn integrative review was performed of all 52 publications about labour market conditions in relation to mental health from the longitudinal Northern Swedish Cohort study. Inductive and deductive qualitative content analysis were performed in relation to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework combined with life-course theories.ResultsThe following nine themes were identified: 1. Macroeconomic recession impairs mental health among young people. 2. The mental health effects on individuals of youth unemployment seem rather insensitive to recession. 3. Small but consistent negative effect of neighbourhood unemployment and other work-related disadvantaged on individuals’ mental health over life. 4. Youth unemployment becomes embodied as scars of mental ill-health over life. 5. Weak labour market attachment impairs mental health over life. 6. Bidirectional relations between health and weak labour market attachment over life. 7. Macrolevel structures are of importance for how labour market position cause poor health. 8. Unequal gender relations at work impacts negatively on mental health. 9. The agency to improve health over life in dyadic relations. Unemployment in society permeates from the macrolevel into the exolevel, defined by Bronfenbrenner as for example the labour market of parents or partners or the neighbourhood into the settings closest to the individual (the micro- and mesolevel) and affects the relations between the work, family, and leisure spheres of the individual. Neighbourhood unemployment leads to poor health among those who live there, independent of their employment status. Individuals’ exposure to unemployment and temporary employment leads to poorer mental health over the life-course. Temporal dimensions were identified and combined with Bronfenbrenner levels into a contextual life-course modelConclusionCombining the ecosocial theory with life-course theories provides a framework for understanding the embodiment of work-related mental health over life. The labour market conditions surrounding the individual are of crucial importance for the embodiment of mental health over life, at the same time as individual agency can be health promoting. Mental health can be improved by societal efforts in regulations of the labour market.

Role of higher education for economic transformation (HEET) projects on youth income generation and unemployment: A case of Mzumbe Ward.

Role of higher education for economic transformation (HEET) projects on youth income generation and unemployment: A case of Mzumbe Ward.

Analyzing the impact of unemployment on mental health among Chinese university graduates: a study of emotional and linguistic patterns on Weibo.

This study explores the intricate relationship between unemployment rates and emotional responses among Chinese university graduates, analyzing how these factors correlate with specific linguistic features on the popular social media platform Sina Weibo. The goal is to uncover patterns that elucidate the psychological and emotional dimensions of unemployment challenges among this demographic. The analysis utilized a dataset of 30,540 Sina Weibo posts containing specific keywords related to unemployment and anxiety, collected from January 2019 to June 2023. The posts were pre-processed to eliminate noise and refine the data quality. Linear regression and textual analyses were employed to identify correlations between unemployment rates for individuals aged 16-24 and the linguistic characteristics of the posts. The study found significant fluctuations in urban youth unemployment rates, peaking at 21.3% in June 2023. A corresponding increase in anxiety-related expressions was noted in the social media posts, with peak expressions aligning with high unemployment rates. Linguistic analysis revealed that the category of "Affect" showed a strong positive correlation with unemployment rates, indicating increased emotional expression alongside rising unemployment. Other categories such as "Negative emotion" and "Sadness" also showed significant correlations, highlighting a robust relationship between economic challenges and emotional distress. The findings underscore the profound impact of unemployment on the emotional well-being of university students, suggesting that economic hardships are closely linked to psychological stress and heightened negative emotions. This study contributes to a holistic understanding of the socio-economic challenges faced by young adults, advocating for comprehensive support systems that address both the economic and psychological facets of unemployment.

Outcomes of Comprehensive Service Delivery and Early Interventions in Countering Youth Exclusion

The high rates of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) are an international concern. At the core of the European Union’s (EU), policy agenda is the reduction of youth unemployment and the active engagement of as many young people as possible in the workforce. The need for holistic services, interagency collaboration, and early intervention have been highlighted as important measures to reduce the risk of youth becoming NEET and subject to long-term unemployment. However, although highlighted as important, little is known about how these factors affect NEET rates. This study addresses this issue by exploring whether comprehensive service delivery, including holistic and collaborative approaches, and early interventions aimed at preventing youth from disengaging from education or employment, may explain the outcome of local NEET rates. Empirically, this study consists of multiple steps. An initial multilevel regression analysis of all Norwegian municipalities provided the basis for strategically selecting 18 municipalities based on their consistently higher or lower NEET rates than predicted when controlling for individual and structural factors that are shown to impact NEET risk. Semi-structured interviews in these municipalities regarding local work with NEETs provided the data, which were analysed using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative method (fsQCA). The results suggest that the engagement of public employment and social services (PESS) in early intervention measures aimed at preventing youth from ending up in a NEET situation, combined with either extensive collaboration with other services or a holistic-oriented local (mental) healthcare service, may indeed explain lower NEET rates.

Youth inclusion in value chain development: a case of the aquaculture in Nigeria

Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have made youth inclusion a top priority in their development agendas. This is aimed at overcoming social, technical, and institutional obstacles and providing fair and significant opportunities for the growth of young people. Inclusive agricultural value chain development (VCD) is being used to address youth unemployment in the region. The Nigerian government and its partners have invested in aquaculture VCD to create employment opportunities for young men and women, but the participation rate is low, at around 2%. Further, research and practices focusing on rural youth inclusion in VCD is scant, with biases towards urban youth inclusion. This study explored youth engagement in the aquaculture value chain and how the chain features and context shape inclusive mechanisms/patterns of youth inclusion in VCD processes. We used the integrated livelihood asset framework, access approach, and VCD approaches to present an analysis of conditions influencing the inclusion of young men and women in the aquaculture VCD in Nigeria. Accordingly, two youth inclusion strategies were identified: investment and risk management strategies. Young men and women from better-off households adopt investment strategy and dominate the production function. They use their resources, social networks and support from youth-focused aquaculture projects to invest in production functions. Those adopting a risk management strategy dominate the processing, distribution, and marketing functions. They dominantly use social networks, support from aquaculture projects, and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to mitigate risks. The high demand for fresh and processed fish, supportive policies, and youth-centered aquaculture projects encourages the engagement of young men and women to adopt either of the strategies. However, they face challenges such as high-cost and low-quality inputs, lack of tailored services, inadequate infrastructure, and sociocultural norms. This study contributes to youth inclusion literature, provides a comprehensive theoretical lens for understanding youth inclusion in VCD, and offers insights into the specific case of young men and women’s engagement in the aquaculture sector in Nigeria.

Psychological implications of unemployment among higher educated migrant youth in Kolkata City, India

Mental health issues are intricately linked to socioeconomic background, employment and migration status. However, there remains a gap in understanding the mental health challenges faced by graduate youth in India, particularly in Kolkata City. This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of depression, anxiety, and stress among higher-educated migrant youth. A survey was conducted on four hundred migrant graduate youths aged 21–35 residing in Kolkata. Measures included socio-demographics and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were employed to identify factors associated with mental health issues. The overall prevalence rates were 54.4% for depression, 61.8% for anxiety, and 47.9% for stress. Unemployed youths exhibited significantly more symptoms of depression and anxiety than their employed counter parts. The logistic regression model showed that unemployed youth, female sex, never married, and second- and third-time migrant youths were risk factors for high scores on the DASS-21. This study showed that mental health issues were alarming in the higher educated migrant youth. The study suggests the implementation of skill-based, job-oriented, and professional courses at the graduation level to prevent graduates from being rendered unproductive and jobless. Beside these, regular psychological support should be provided to the higher educated youth by the local governments.