Synopses & Reviews
In Europe's current economic and socio-political climate, young peoples' exposure to social risks is escalating. This edited collection provides the first in-depth analysis of youth as an important case for contemporary social policy. By combining social policy and youth studies, the book explores the effects of both the economic crisis and austerity policies on the lives of young Europeans. This timely publication focusses on two fundamental contemporary challenges for European welfare states: the changing conditions faced by young people, characterized by precarity and social exclusion; and the role of social policies and welfare sources in shaping youth transitions. Through a unique combination of comparative studies and case-studies studies conducted across Europe by leading experts, the book covers a number of policy areas relevant to youth transitions including education, labour market, housing and social security policies. This book will be essential reading for academics, policy-makers and students interested in understanding how welfare states are responding to the challenges faced by young people.
Review
"This is a very useful and important book. It properly gets to grips with some of the most critical challenges facing young people in the light of the recent economic crisis. Rather than concentrating only on issues of employment the book takes a more holistic approach to understanding young lives and additionally locates this insightful and careful analysis within a consideration of longer term trends in youth transitions. A great achievement and essential reading for anyone interested in youth transitions in Europe both in the current economic context and beyond it." - Tracy Shildrick, University of Leeds, UK
"This highly readable and well-structured volume reviews and contrasts a range of policies affecting young people within and across European countries. The editors ought to be congratulated for successfully connecting research on 'youth transitions' with comparative social policy analysis." - Jochen Clasen, University of Edinburgh, UK
"The implications for young people entering the new economy are far-reaching and this book provides a rich illustration of the impact of precarity on young people across Europe, highlighting the inadequacies of policy in States that have abdicated responsibility for providing equally for all of their citizens." - Andy Furlong, University of Glasgow, UK
Synopsis
This edited collection provides the first in-depth analysis of social policies and the risks faced by young people. The book explores the effects of both the economic crisis and austerity policies on the lives of young Europeans, examining both the precarity of youth transitions, and the function of welfare state policies.
About the Author
Lorenza Antonucci is Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of the West of Scotland, UK. In 2010 she won the first Policy Press Award for her doctoral research. She researches on welfare state changes in relation to young people and has advised European policy-making in this area.
Dr Myra Hamilton is a Research Fellow at the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her research interests and areas of publication are in the perceptions and management of social risks over the lifecourse.
Dr Steven Roberts is Lecturer in Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Kent, UK. His work on issues to do with young people's experiences of work, education, housing and the domestic sphere is published widely in international journals.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Young People and Social Policy in Europe: New and Old Transitions; Myra Hamilton, Lorenza Antonucci and Steven Roberts 2. Constructing a Theory of Youth and Social Policy; Lorenza Antonucci, Myra Hamilton and Steven Roberts PART I: PRECARITY, SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND YOUTH POLICY IN EUROPE 3. The Complex Nature of Youth Poverty and Deprivation in Europe; Eldin Fahmy 4. At risk of deskilling and trapped by passion: a picture of precarious highly-educated young workers in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom; Annalisa Murgia and Barbara Poggio 5. Social exclusion, risk and the UK youth labour market; Clive Sealey 6. Young people at work in Greece before and after the crisis;Lefteris Kretsos 7. The impacts of employment instability on transitions to adulthood: The mileuristas young adults in Spain; Alessandro Gentile PART II: CHANGING TRANSITIONS, WELFARE SOURCES AND SOCIAL POLICIES 8. Labour market risks and sources of welfare among European youth in times of crisis; Lara Maestripieri and Stefania Sabatinelli 9 Have Nordic welfare regimes adapted to changes in transitions to adulthood? Unemployment insurance and social assistance among young people in the Nordic welfare states; Anna Angelin, Timo Kauppinen, Thomas Lorentzen, Olof Bäckman, Pasi Moisio, Espen Dahl, Tapio Salonen 10. The Dualisation of Social Policies towards Young People in France: Between Familism and Activation; Tom Chevalier and Bruno Palier 11. Young adults' transitions to residential independence in Britain: the role of social and housing policy; Ann Berrington and Juliet Stone 12. Life-course policy and the transition from school to work in Germany; Walter R. Heinz 13. Youth transitions, precarity and inequality and the future of social policy in Europe; Lorenza Antonucci and Myra Hamilton