The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries

This study explores the role of the welfare state in reducing young people not being in education, employment, or training (NEET)s across 15 European countries. Using data from the Survey of Adult Skills in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in combination wit...

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Main Authors: Minjong Youn, Chungseo Kang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-09-01
Series:SAGE Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231193864
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author Minjong Youn
Chungseo Kang
author_facet Minjong Youn
Chungseo Kang
author_sort Minjong Youn
collection DOAJ
description This study explores the role of the welfare state in reducing young people not being in education, employment, or training (NEET)s across 15 European countries. Using data from the Survey of Adult Skills in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in combination with the Social Expenditure Database, we conducted cross-national analysis to reveal whether the increase in public social spending moderates the risk of being NEET at a young adult age, especially for socially disadvantaged young people. Our results highlighted that the rise of one percentage point of public social spending per gross domestic product, including social expenditure on education, active labor market, and unemployment, is significantly associated with decreasing the odds of being NEET. Furthermore, these social expenditures appeared to lower the NEET risk given socially disadvantaged backgrounds suggesting that young people with low educational levels, whose parents have low educational attainment levels, non-immigrant families, and females are likely to benefit given the robust social protection system. These findings suggest that public social spending may be an effective investment in promoting the social involvement of young people from socially disadvantaged background.
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spelling doaj.art-20a5ec37f0dd43309561f64fdb7a10eb2023-09-23T08:03:30ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402023-09-011310.1177/21582440231193864The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European CountriesMinjong Youn0Chungseo Kang1Pusan National University, Kumjeong-ku, Republic of KoreaJeonbuk National University, Deokjin-gu, Republic of KoreaThis study explores the role of the welfare state in reducing young people not being in education, employment, or training (NEET)s across 15 European countries. Using data from the Survey of Adult Skills in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in combination with the Social Expenditure Database, we conducted cross-national analysis to reveal whether the increase in public social spending moderates the risk of being NEET at a young adult age, especially for socially disadvantaged young people. Our results highlighted that the rise of one percentage point of public social spending per gross domestic product, including social expenditure on education, active labor market, and unemployment, is significantly associated with decreasing the odds of being NEET. Furthermore, these social expenditures appeared to lower the NEET risk given socially disadvantaged backgrounds suggesting that young people with low educational levels, whose parents have low educational attainment levels, non-immigrant families, and females are likely to benefit given the robust social protection system. These findings suggest that public social spending may be an effective investment in promoting the social involvement of young people from socially disadvantaged background.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231193864
spellingShingle Minjong Youn
Chungseo Kang
The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries
SAGE Open
title The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries
title_full The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries
title_fullStr The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries
title_full_unstemmed The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries
title_short The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries
title_sort role of the welfare state for neets exploring the association between public social spending and neet in european countries
url https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231193864
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