Understanding NEETs: Individual and institutional determinants of youth inactivity in France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK

In 2012 no less than 15% of young people aged 15-29 in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries were Not in Employment, Education or Training (so-called “NEETs”). The NEET rate varies markedly between countries. In Turkey almost 30% of all young people were NEETs. However even in the Netherlands – the country with the lowest rate – the NEET rate is 7%.

This project investigates the patterns, causes and consequences of NEET to reveal and understand country similarities and differences. The goal is to provide new theoretical and empirical insights on the temporal patterns of NEET, the impact of individual and institutional characteristics and the interplay between institutions and individual characteristics on young people’s transitions into and out of NEET. This will be achieved by examining the patterns, causes and consequences of NEET in a sample of OECD countries, specifically France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK.

External project members include, Mark Levels (Maastricht University); Heike Solga (Berlin Social Science Center); additional collaborators in France and Japan.