YOUNEX · Youth, unemployment, and exclusion in Europe: A multidimensional approach to understanding the conditions and prospects for social and political integration of young unemployed

This research aims to advance knowledge on the causes, processes, and perspectives for change related to the social and political exclusion of unemployed youth. It has three main objectives: (1) to generate a new body of data on young unemployed (in particular, young long-term unemployed), but also precarious youth; (2) to advance theory and extend knowledge on the social and political exclusion of young unemployed; and (3) to provide practical insights into the potential paths for the social and political integration of young unemployed. The overall design of the research has three main components: (1) a multidimensional theoretical framework that combines macro-level, meso-level, and micro-level explanatory factors while taking into account various dimensions of exclusion (social and political exclusion, individual well-being); (2) a cross-national comparative design that includes European countries with different institutional approaches to unemployment (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland); (3) an integrated methodological approach based on multiple sources and methods (analysis of state and EU policies and practices towards unemployment, a survey of organizations active in the field, a survey of young long-term unemployed and precarious youth, in-depth interviews with young long-term unemployed, and focus groups with stakeholders). Three important features of the proposed research underscore its innovative impact: (1) its comparative approach allowing for bench-marking and best-practice analysis; (2) its multidimensional approach allowing to consider the mediating impact of (European, national, or local) public policy on the way people cope with their situation of unemployed; (3) its interactive research process spurring policy-learning by bringing together different expertise and knowledge, and allowing at the same time for the transfer of scientific findings into policy recommendations.