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Connecting the Disconnected: Improving Education and Employment Outcomes Among Disadvantaged Youth

Author

Listed:
  • Edelman, Peter B.

    (Georgetown University)

  • Holzer, Harry J.

    (Georgetown University)

Abstract

In this paper we will briefly review recent trends in employment outcomes for disadvantaged youth, focusing specifically on those who have become "disconnected" from school and the labor market, and why these trends have occurred. We then review a range of policy prescriptions that might improve those outcomes. These policies include: 1) Efforts to enhance education and employment outcomes, both among in-school youth who are at risk of dropping out and becoming disconnected as well as out-of-school youth who have already done so; 2) Policies to increase earnings and incent more labor force participation among youth, such as expanding the eligibility of childless adults (and especially non-custodial parents) for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); and 3) Specific policies to reduce barriers to employment faced by ex-offenders and non-custodial parents (NCPs). We also consider policies that target the demand side of the labor market, in efforts to spur the willingness of employers to hire these young people and perhaps to improve the quality of jobs available to them.

Suggested Citation

  • Edelman, Peter B. & Holzer, Harry J., 2013. "Connecting the Disconnected: Improving Education and Employment Outcomes Among Disadvantaged Youth," IZA Policy Papers 56, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izapps:pp56
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Ayala & Olga Cantó & Juan G. Rodríguez, 2017. "Poverty and the business cycle: A regional panel data analysis for Spain using alternative measures of unemployment," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(1), pages 47-73, March.
    2. Asli Beyhan Acar & Mine Afacan Findikli, 2020. "Employment of disadvantaged groups in OECD countries: A comparative study with MDS analysis," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(4), pages 330-342, July.
    3. Olga Cantó & Inmaculada Cebrián & Gloria Moreno, 2019. "Household precariousness and youth living arrangements in Spain: evidence for a complete business cycle," Working Papers 499, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    youth; education; employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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