THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN EXPLAINING YOUTH LABOUR MARKET IMBALANCES IN CEE COUNTRIES

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of youth labour market performances and their influence on the future economic and social development of a country. The objectives refer to the assessment of demographic and labour market trends for young people, the analysis of the factors responsible for increasing youth unemployment and for the differences between skilled and unskilled young people concerning unemployment rates. To achieve the paper’s objectives several statistical and econometric models (descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis) have been used. The main interest was to look for the key driver of youth labour market sustainable performances. The degree of originality is given by our choice to analyse youth labour market dynamics from an interconnected perspective (demographic trends, youth unemployment, education) and to apply the model for 10 CEE countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia) in order to compare their performances.

Keywords

• demographic trends
• labour market
• youth unemployment
• education
• skill mismatch
• economic crisis