Hardback
Global Youth Unemployment
History, Governance and Policy
9781789900415 Edward Elgar Publishing
This timely book introduces a fresh perspective on youth unemployment by analysing it as a global phenomenon. Ross Fergusson and Nicola Yeates argue that only by incorporating analysis of the dynamics of the global economy and global governance can we make convincing, comprehensive sense of these developments. The authors present substantial new evidence spanning a century pointing to the strong relationships between youth unemployment, globalisation, economic crises and consequent harms to young people’s social and economic welfare worldwide. The book notably encompasses data and analysis spanning the Global South as well as the Global North.
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Critical Acclaim
Contents
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This timely book introduces a fresh perspective on youth unemployment by analysing it as a global phenomenon. Continuously-escalating rates of youth unemployment have become endemic, normalised features of contemporary society. Ross Fergusson and Nicola Yeates argue that only by incorporating analysis of the dynamics of the global economy and global governance can we make convincing, comprehensive sense of these developments. The authors present new substantial evidence spanning a century pointing to the strong relationships between youth unemployment, globalisation, economic crises and consequent harms to young people’s social and economic welfare worldwide. The book notably encompasses data and analysis spanning the Global South as well as the Global North.
The authors’ innovative exploration is holistic in approach and committed to analyses that span histories, territories, academic disciplines and policy contexts. Providing new statistical examination of the incidence, distribution, impacts and putative causes, this book presents a highly original interpretation of youth unemployment and its global governance. It calls for urgently-needed robust responses on a global scale.
Global Youth Unemployment is essential reading for students and academics within the fields of social, labour, public and economic policy as well as policy makers within the youth employment and unemployment sectors.
The authors’ innovative exploration is holistic in approach and committed to analyses that span histories, territories, academic disciplines and policy contexts. Providing new statistical examination of the incidence, distribution, impacts and putative causes, this book presents a highly original interpretation of youth unemployment and its global governance. It calls for urgently-needed robust responses on a global scale.
Global Youth Unemployment is essential reading for students and academics within the fields of social, labour, public and economic policy as well as policy makers within the youth employment and unemployment sectors.
Critical Acclaim
‘It is fantastic reading, and the overall recommendation is that this book deserves a broad readership. Academics, first of all, since they represent a transmission of the assumptions to a broader spectre of students who need to get familiar with the outcomes of the perspectives promoted by Ferguson and Yeates.’
– Niels Rosendal Jensen, European Journal of Social Work
‘The two authors are very dear and consistent with respect to their purpose, which is a merit to them. In turn, it makes it easier to understand and discuss their viewpoint. For practitioners, the main interest may be to learn how public support and public governance is creating youth unemployment too. This is neither a novelty - except for a truism: it offers another opportunity to consider what professionals are accepting, and what they should not accept.’
– Niels Rosendal, European Journal of Social Work
‘This book is a manifesto of global social policy. ...Global Youth Unemployment features a strong empirical analysis underpinning its major arguments. With an extensive collection of the worldwide employment data from various sources, Fergusson and Yeates convincingly portrait the characteristics of the youth labor forces and the profiles of endemic YU. The extent of data compilation across the regions and over time is remarkable, illustrating the steady rise of YU globally. ...Fergusson and Yeates also demonstrate their excellent expertise in the historical development of global policies toward YU. ...For social policy scholarship, this book sheds new light on a centuries-old social question by linking (un-)employment with the structural transformations of the global economy, and how the latter adversely impact on the youth cohorts of the Global North and South alike.’
– Shih-Jiunn Shi, The Developing Economies
‘Recommended. The text will serve as a valuable reference, providing extensive data sets while offering an important read for anyone interested in social welfare and contemporary public policy.’
– S.R. Kahn, CHOICE
‘Global Youth Unemployment: History, Governance and Policy by Ross Fergusson and Nicola Yeates is a remarkable book: conceptually rich and empirically epic, it deserves to have a major impact on the study of social policy, and indeed across the social sciences more generally . . . There have been few, if any, books which detail so convincingly and originally the cross-border determinants of youth unemployment. The data presented in the book’s empirical chapter[s] is comprehensive, indeed, almost exhaustive … from a vast array of sources . . . The authors fit the pieces of the puzzle together masterfully . . . Global Youth Unemployment is full of rich and innovative argumentation.’
– Craig Berry, British Journal of Industrial Relations
‘Rarely has a study of global youth unemployment so adeptly combined an empirically-grounded scrutiny of its levels and trends, with a conceptually nuanced analysis of its political economy drivers at multiple scales. Fergusson and Yeates make a compelling case for seeing endemic youth unemployment as an issue of grave social injustice–one that supply-side palliative approaches have patently failed to address, and which is in urgent need of integrated employment, social protection and macroeconomic policies backed by a more cohesive system of social and economic governance at the global level.’
– Shahra Razavi, Director of the Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization, Switzerland
‘This is a timely assessment of a global crisis that has been greatly worsened by the Covid pandemic slump. Youth make up a large percentage of the global precariat, and as the authors convincingly demonstrate, their unemployment has long been huge, with enormous global social and economic consequences. Unless income security can be provided on a worldwide basis there will be justified social unrest.’
– Guy Standing, Professorial Research Associate, SOAS University of London, UK
‘Youth unemployment, as a social policy and social movement issue, now has its definitive treatment in this magnificent book by Ross Fergusson and Nicola Yeates. Going beyond methodological nationalism it outlines lucidly the causes of endemic youth unemployment on a global scale. It calls for a Global Compact for Youth Employment to address the scandalous fact that nearly half of the world’s unemployed are between 15 and 24 years of age. This is historically grounded, policy relevant, critical analysis at its best.’
– Ronaldo Munck, Professor of Political Sociology, Dublin City University, Ireland
‘Based on research and analysis that draws comparative lessons across historical periods and across economies, and which brings together insights from different academic disciplines, Global Youth Unemployment is a fascinating, important and timely book. Fergusson and Yeates focus on the injustice of youth unemployment as a threat to young people’s social and economic welfare at a global level. This perspective, and the call to action that concludes the book, is original and impressive. It will be an important book for students and scholars in social policy, political science, sociology and youth studies.’
– Robert MacDonald, Professor of Education and Social Justice, University of Huddersfield, UK
‘Fergusson and Yeates’ distinctive voice narrates a timely diagnosis of an acute but understudied phenomenon, as viewed through historical and contemporary lenses. This is a book of big ideas that will set the standard for future analyses of global youth unemployment.’
– Heidi Gottfried, Professor of Sociology, Wayne State University, Detroit, US
‘A vital contribution to our understanding of the transnational structures contributing to the endemic problem of youth unemployment. The study draws attention to the necessity of dealing with this human tragedy through global social policy analysis. Its conclusions and recommendations are highly relevant for the post-Covid 19 era.’
– Robert O’Brien, Professor of Political Science, McMaster University, Canada
‘The majority of the world’s youth labor force is unemployed. Recognizing and analyzing youth unemployment as an inherent “global” social problem, this book takes an innovative and insightful view of this phenomenon. It explores youth unemployment not only in its current state across both the Global North and the Global South, but also deals with its historical as well as institutional origins and analyzes economic consequences under the neoliberal paradigm. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in global social policy and labor issues.’
– Kerstin Martens, Professor of International Relations and World Society, University of Bremen,
Germany
‘A book that will change the way you think about global and local youth unemployment: its causes, its consequences and its cures.’
– Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford, UK
– Niels Rosendal Jensen, European Journal of Social Work
‘The two authors are very dear and consistent with respect to their purpose, which is a merit to them. In turn, it makes it easier to understand and discuss their viewpoint. For practitioners, the main interest may be to learn how public support and public governance is creating youth unemployment too. This is neither a novelty - except for a truism: it offers another opportunity to consider what professionals are accepting, and what they should not accept.’
– Niels Rosendal, European Journal of Social Work
‘This book is a manifesto of global social policy. ...Global Youth Unemployment features a strong empirical analysis underpinning its major arguments. With an extensive collection of the worldwide employment data from various sources, Fergusson and Yeates convincingly portrait the characteristics of the youth labor forces and the profiles of endemic YU. The extent of data compilation across the regions and over time is remarkable, illustrating the steady rise of YU globally. ...Fergusson and Yeates also demonstrate their excellent expertise in the historical development of global policies toward YU. ...For social policy scholarship, this book sheds new light on a centuries-old social question by linking (un-)employment with the structural transformations of the global economy, and how the latter adversely impact on the youth cohorts of the Global North and South alike.’
– Shih-Jiunn Shi, The Developing Economies
‘Recommended. The text will serve as a valuable reference, providing extensive data sets while offering an important read for anyone interested in social welfare and contemporary public policy.’
– S.R. Kahn, CHOICE
‘Global Youth Unemployment: History, Governance and Policy by Ross Fergusson and Nicola Yeates is a remarkable book: conceptually rich and empirically epic, it deserves to have a major impact on the study of social policy, and indeed across the social sciences more generally . . . There have been few, if any, books which detail so convincingly and originally the cross-border determinants of youth unemployment. The data presented in the book’s empirical chapter[s] is comprehensive, indeed, almost exhaustive … from a vast array of sources . . . The authors fit the pieces of the puzzle together masterfully . . . Global Youth Unemployment is full of rich and innovative argumentation.’
– Craig Berry, British Journal of Industrial Relations
‘Rarely has a study of global youth unemployment so adeptly combined an empirically-grounded scrutiny of its levels and trends, with a conceptually nuanced analysis of its political economy drivers at multiple scales. Fergusson and Yeates make a compelling case for seeing endemic youth unemployment as an issue of grave social injustice–one that supply-side palliative approaches have patently failed to address, and which is in urgent need of integrated employment, social protection and macroeconomic policies backed by a more cohesive system of social and economic governance at the global level.’
– Shahra Razavi, Director of the Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization, Switzerland
‘This is a timely assessment of a global crisis that has been greatly worsened by the Covid pandemic slump. Youth make up a large percentage of the global precariat, and as the authors convincingly demonstrate, their unemployment has long been huge, with enormous global social and economic consequences. Unless income security can be provided on a worldwide basis there will be justified social unrest.’
– Guy Standing, Professorial Research Associate, SOAS University of London, UK
‘Youth unemployment, as a social policy and social movement issue, now has its definitive treatment in this magnificent book by Ross Fergusson and Nicola Yeates. Going beyond methodological nationalism it outlines lucidly the causes of endemic youth unemployment on a global scale. It calls for a Global Compact for Youth Employment to address the scandalous fact that nearly half of the world’s unemployed are between 15 and 24 years of age. This is historically grounded, policy relevant, critical analysis at its best.’
– Ronaldo Munck, Professor of Political Sociology, Dublin City University, Ireland
‘Based on research and analysis that draws comparative lessons across historical periods and across economies, and which brings together insights from different academic disciplines, Global Youth Unemployment is a fascinating, important and timely book. Fergusson and Yeates focus on the injustice of youth unemployment as a threat to young people’s social and economic welfare at a global level. This perspective, and the call to action that concludes the book, is original and impressive. It will be an important book for students and scholars in social policy, political science, sociology and youth studies.’
– Robert MacDonald, Professor of Education and Social Justice, University of Huddersfield, UK
‘Fergusson and Yeates’ distinctive voice narrates a timely diagnosis of an acute but understudied phenomenon, as viewed through historical and contemporary lenses. This is a book of big ideas that will set the standard for future analyses of global youth unemployment.’
– Heidi Gottfried, Professor of Sociology, Wayne State University, Detroit, US
‘A vital contribution to our understanding of the transnational structures contributing to the endemic problem of youth unemployment. The study draws attention to the necessity of dealing with this human tragedy through global social policy analysis. Its conclusions and recommendations are highly relevant for the post-Covid 19 era.’
– Robert O’Brien, Professor of Political Science, McMaster University, Canada
‘The majority of the world’s youth labor force is unemployed. Recognizing and analyzing youth unemployment as an inherent “global” social problem, this book takes an innovative and insightful view of this phenomenon. It explores youth unemployment not only in its current state across both the Global North and the Global South, but also deals with its historical as well as institutional origins and analyzes economic consequences under the neoliberal paradigm. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in global social policy and labor issues.’
– Kerstin Martens, Professor of International Relations and World Society, University of Bremen,
Germany
‘A book that will change the way you think about global and local youth unemployment: its causes, its consequences and its cures.’
– Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford, UK
Contents
Contents: 1. Introduction: globalising endemic youth unemployment 2. Endemic youth unemployment:a social policy issue 3. The global youth labour force 4. Global economic restructuring and youth labour markets 5. Financial crises and endemic youth unemployment 6. Youth unemployment economic crises and human development, 1991–2018 (with Sarah Tipping) 7. Historical origins and early development of global youth unemployment policy, 1919–1979 8. The neo-liberalisation of global youth unemployment policy, 1980–2021 9. Conclusion: towards a global compact for youth employment References Index
