Youth Unemployment in Old Europe: The Polar Cases of France and Germany

Pierre Cahuc, Stéphane Carcillo (), Ulf Rinne and Klaus Zimmermann ()
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Stéphane Carcillo: ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: France and Germany are two polar cases in the European debate about rising youth unemployment. Similar to what can be observed in Southern European countries, a "lost generation" may arise in France. In stark contrast, youth unemployment has been on continuous decline in Germany for many years, hardly affected by the Great Recession. This paper analyzes the diametrically opposed developments in the two countries to derive policy lessons. As the fundamental differences in youth unemployment primarily result from structural differences in labor policy and in the (vocational) education system, short-term oriented policies do not address the core of the problems. Ultimately, the youth unemployment disease in France and in other European countries has to be cured with structural reforms.

Keywords: Labor Policy; Labor Market Institutions; Great Recession; Youth Unemployment; Minimum Wages; Demographic Trends; Vocational Education and Training; Unemployment Protection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-11
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03470561v1
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Published in IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 2013, 2 (18), pp.1 - 23. ⟨10.1186/2193-9012-2-18⟩

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Journal Article: Youth unemployment in old Europe: the polar cases of France and Germany (2013)
Working Paper: Youth Unemployment in Old Europe: The Polar Cases of France and Germany (2013)
Working Paper: Youth Unemployment in Old Europe: The Polar Cases of France and Germany (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-03470561

DOI: 10.1186/2193-9012-2-18

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