Social disinvestment and vulnerable groups in Europe in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The case of early school leavers in Geneva

Although ‘inclusive growth’ is one of the pillars of the Europe 2020 strategy, the social dimension of the strategy has lost momentum with the (Euro) crisis and the ensuing priority given to macro‐economic stabi­lisation policies. The agreed target of alleviating poverty by 20 million poor in 10 years cannot be reached anymore due to the crisis. Instead, inequalities are growing, unemployment and poverty are reaching new records, particularly in the peripheral regions of the EU. However, in 2013, the Commission launched a major endeavour to rebalance economic and social progress: the Social Investment Package (SIP). Whereas the trends in ‑ and causes of ‑ increased inequality and social exclusion have already been extensively studied, the economic, social, cultural and political consequences of this growing divide are less clear. RE-InVEST aims to fill this gap by evaluating the SIP from a human rights and capability perspective. The first step in this endeavour is a diagnosis of the social damage of the crisis in terms of (the erosion of) human rights, social (dis)investment, loss of (collective) capabilities, and loss of trust. Hence, a first key working assumption of RE-InVEST is that growing distrust and indeed resentment among the population towards institutions in general and European institutions in particular may be attributed to (a rejection of) the neoliberal policies employed by national as well as European elites in recent years. In particular, it seems quite plausible that the retrenchment of the State, in conjunction with rising inequality and income insecurity, may have undermined trust, especially among the poor and the ‘precariat’ (Standing, 2011). A second key working assumption of RE-InVEST is that the social damages of the crisis can be understood through the notions of erosion of basic social rights and of disinvestment in capabilities of individuals and groups in the EU. This implies analysing experiences of insecurity, poverty and social degradation from those perspectives. Human rights (and basic economic, social and cultural rights in par­ticular) can be seen as the cornerstone of European values and thus an essential part of our European heritage (Hart, 2010). By fragmenting and weakening public services as well as civil society organisations, trade unions etc. solidarity is undermined and the role of collectivities in enhancing individual capabilities is constrained. In order to diagnose the effects of the crisis, RE-InVEST aims at giving vulnerable people a voice and therefore has opted for using a participatory research approach. Researchers and participants jointly analyse the impact of the crisis on capabilities and human rights. At least two individual biographies per project partner are collected as testimonies of the social damage. Our national report focuses on the case of Switzerland and, specifically, analyses the impact of the crisis on a group of young people experiencing difficulties in their transition from school to work in Geneva (Switzerland). In Switzerland, the economic crisis has hit much less hard than in other European countries. Thus, in the Swiss case, the ‘crisis’ can be interpreted in connexion with the overall structural change towards post-industrialism, increased international competition and budgetary pressures on social expenditure. The ‘crisis’ also impacts at the individual level in the life of young people faced with difficult transitions from school to work – a period of crisis also in the etymological sense of a moment for questioning, reflecting and discerning about one’s own identity and conception of the good life. There are at least two reasons for focusing on young people. First, young people are among the most vulnerable social groups in Switzerland, with the 18-25 having the highest rate of social assistance take up in the population (except the 0­18 cate­gory). While young people in general are more vulnerable within the Swiss society, it is clear that low-qualified ones represent the most vulnerable among the young people – and we therefore chose to focus on them. Second, the importance of concentrating the analysis on a group of NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) lies in the fact that it constitutes one of the crucial targets of social investment policies. Indeed, such policies aim at the improvement of human capital and at the maximisation of the employment rate. In contrast, these young people are not in education or training, nor in work. Thus, they are excluded precisely from the activities oriented towards human capital formation and paid work, which are the two spheres most valued by the social investment paradigm. From this perspective, understating the causes of a school-dropout, the aspirations and values of such young people is especially relevant to an informed diagnosis of the crisis. Although ‘inclusive growth’ is one of the pillars of the Europe 2020 strategy, the social dimension of the strategy has lost momentum with the (Euro) crisis and the ensuing priority given to macro‐economic stabi­lisation policies. The agreed target of alleviating poverty by 20 million poor in 10 years cannot be reached anymore due to the crisis. Instead, inequalities are growing, unemployment and poverty are reaching new records, particularly in the peripheral regions of the EU. However, in 2013, the Commission launched a major endeavour to rebalance economic and social progress: the Social Investment Package (SIP). Whereas the trends in ‑ and causes of ‑ increased inequality and social exclusion have already been extensively studied, the economic, social, cultural and political consequences of this growing divide are less clear. RE-InVEST aims to fill this gap by evaluating the SIP from a human rights and capability perspective. The first step in this endeavour is a diagnosis of the social damage of the crisis in terms of (the erosion of) human rights, social (dis)investment, loss of (collective) capabilities, and loss of trust. Hence, a first key working assumption of RE-InVEST is that growing distrust and indeed resentment among the population towards institutions in general and European institutions in particular may be attributed to (a rejection of) the neoliberal policies employed by national as well as European elites in recent years. In particular, it seems quite plausible that the retrenchment of the State, in conjunction with rising inequality and income insecurity, may have undermined trust, especially among the poor and the ‘precariat’ (Standing, 2011). A second key working assumption of RE-InVEST is that the social damages of the crisis can be understood through the notions of erosion of basic social rights and of disinvestment in capabilities of individuals and groups in the EU. This implies analysing experiences of insecurity, poverty and social degradation from those perspectives. Human rights (and basic economic, social and cultural rights in par­ticular) can be seen as the cornerstone of European values and thus an essential part of our European heritage (Hart, 2010). By fragmenting and weakening public services as well as civil society organisations, trade unions etc. solidarity is undermined and the role of collectivities in enhancing individual capabilities is constrained. In order to diagnose the effects of the crisis, RE-InVEST aims at giving vulnerable people a voice and therefore has opted for using a participatory research approach. Researchers and participants jointly analyse the impact of the crisis on capabilities and human rights. At least two individual biographies per project partner are collected as testimonies of the social damage. Our national report focuses on the case of Switzerland and, specifically, analyses the impact of the crisis on a group of young people experiencing difficulties in their transition from school to work in Geneva (Switzerland). In Switzerland, the economic crisis has hit much less hard than in other European countries. Thus, in the Swiss case, the ‘crisis’ can be interpreted in connexion with the overall structural change towards post-industrialism, increased international competition and budgetary pressures on social expenditure. The ‘crisis’ also impacts at the individual level in the life of young people faced with difficult transitions from school to work – a period of crisis also in the etymological sense of a moment for questioning, reflecting and discerning about one’s own identity and conception of the good life. There are at least two reasons for focusing on young people. First, young people are among the most vulnerable social groups in Switzerland, with the 18-25 having the highest rate of social assistance take up in the population (except the 0­18 cate­gory). While young people in general are more vulnerable within the Swiss society, it is clear that low-qualified ones represent the most vulnerable among the young people – and we therefore chose to focus on them. Second, the importance of concentrating the analysis on a group of NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) lies in the fact that it constitutes one of the crucial targets of social investment policies. Indeed, such policies aim at the improvement of human capital and at the maximisation of the employment rate. In contrast, these young people are not in education or training, nor in work. Thus, they are excluded precisely from the activities oriented towards human capital formation and paid work, which are the two spheres most valued by the social investment paradigm. From this perspective, understating the causes of a school-dropout, the aspirations and values of such young people is especially relevant to an informed diagnosis of the crisis