The Probability for Unemployed Young People to Re-Enter Education or Employment: A comparative study in six Northern European countries

This article examines the return to education or employment of unemployed young people in Northern Europe. Comparative surveys of nearly 8600 unemployed young people in Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Scotland enabled us to study the probability for unemployed young people to re-enter the educational system versus employment. The results showed that, in all countries, re-entering post-compulsory education was mainly dependent on educational capital, as defined by Bourdieu. The respondents' education, their parents' education and parents' support for their children's education had a strong impact on the probability of re-entering the educational system. Social capital, as defined by Coleman, increased the probability of re-entering employment, but had no impact on the probability of re-entering education. Most important, in most countries, young unemployed women had a higher probability of re-entering education than unemployed young men. There were also differences between countries. The results cannot only be explained by access to further education. In Iceland and Scotland, further education is less developed than in the other countries. However, 18% of the sample returned to education in Iceland, compared with only 3% in Scotland.