Ethnic Minority Youths in the Labour Markets in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden

Abstract

This paper uses administrative data to in detail document how the share of youths not in employment, education or training has evolved over time in the Scandinavian countries. We study both first- and second-generation immigrant youths as well as natives to explore whether the pattern differ depending on the region of origin. We show that the NEET rates are higher among youths with an immigrant background compared to youths with a native background in all countries. Even when controlling for youth background characteristics, first- and second-generation immigrant youths have significantly higher probability of being in NEET compared to native youths.

Keywords: ethnic minority youths, NEET, Nordic countries

JEL Classification: J15, J13, J61, J64