Youth labour market outsiderness: The ‘Nordic model’ compared with Britain and Germany

Labour market outcomes are amongst the most politically and socially contentious issues in Europe. Extremely high rates of youth unem- ployment, with recent rates exceeding 50 per cent in Spain or Greece (Eurostat, 2014), have become a key focus of policy debates. This chapter compares youth labour markets in Nordic countries, Britain, and Germany. It investigates the following two questions. First, does a ‘Nordic’ model exist with regard to youth labour market outsiderness, if compared with labour market outcomes in Britain and Germany? Youth labour market outsiders are young people who are either in precarious employment or live in poor households. Second, how are differences of youth labour market outsiderness in the Nordic countries, Germany and Britain compounded by different types of outsiderness and gender differences