The Young and the Great Recession
The current Great Recession has affected young people and in particular the transition to adulthood in industrialized countries. In many countries, family incomes, housing values and other wealth holdings have fallen and unemployment rates have increased. In particular, the economic crisis has hit the young population very hard. However, there is substantial heterogeneity in the experience of young adults, as welfare protection and family ties can buffer them from negative economic shocks.
On 25-26th October the Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics in collaboration with the Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood will host the international conference Transition to Adulthood after the Great Recession (Room 4-E4-SR03, via Roentgen 1) at Bocconi University.
Local organisers are Arnstein Aassve, Deputy Director of the Dondena Centre, Frank Furstenberg, University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Professor at Bocconi University and Sheldon Danziger, Henry J. Meyer Distinguished Professor in Public Policy at University of Michigan.
At the Dondena Centre the topic of youth vulnerability during the current recession is being rigorously investigated. The main results will be presented at the conference by Arnstein Aassve, Elena Cottini and Agnese Vitali.
Aassve and colleagues analyze the patterns of unemployment, poverty and financial deprivation for young adults during the current period of economic hardship (2005-2010, i.e. the period covering the beginning and the spread of the economic crisis). They bring to light how young people fared differently across countries that also differ in the extent to which they were exposed to the economic crisis. Their analyses show that not only the usual suspects –Mediterranean countries and Central and Eastern European countries– are suffering from the crisis, but a worsening in youth conditions (such as poverty or deprivation) is emerging also in Nordic countries. Nordic countries and France experienced a sharp increase in poverty rates for young people between 2007 and 2010. For example in Finland poverty rates for 20 years old raises from 15% in 2007 to 25% in 2010, while in Denmark from 9% in 2007 to 22% in 2010. They also document an increase in financial deprivation among young people. Interestingly, they show that the proportion of young adults having great difficulty in making ends meet registered an increase in all countries, with only few exceptions. The increase in financial difficulties for young people is particularly prominent in Central and Eastern European countries followed by Southern European countries. Southern European countries top the rank in terms of increases in deprivation with respect to basic necessities (i.e. cannot afford meat, fish or chicken every second day; cannot afford a week's holiday away from home; cannot afford unexpected expenses), with Greek and Spanish young adults that suffered most, followed by Portuguese and then Italian.
Among them, the most vulnerable category in terms of financial deprivation is represented by single parent households with at least one dependent child. This category is worse offwith respect to any other household type, while traditional nuclear families (two-persons household with children) seem to suffer most in Southern European countries where welfare provisions are likely to be less generous. In France the proportion of single-parent household with child(ren) having great difficulties in making ends meet rose from 1% in 2007 to 10% in 2010. Similar increases are found in other countries such as Norway (from 1% to 5%), Greece (from 6% to9 %) and Spain (from 5% percent to 9%). Interestingly, in Spain and Greece worsened financial difficulties are found also for two-person households with child(ren).
Obviously young people themselves are interested in understanding how they are faring in these difficult times. As a result, Dondena is collaborating with the European Youth Forum, the umbrella organization of all European youth organizations located in Bruxelles. On the 11th October Aassve took part in the European Youth Forum Roundtable conference held at the European Parliament, entitled The Financial Crisis and the Social Inclusion of Young people: what future for Europe's Youth?. Here 50 representatives from various youth interest groups met to discuss the situation of young people today and the near future.
CLICK HERE for the programme of the conference Transition to Adulthood after the Great Recession