Page 33 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

Guiding at-risk youth through learning to work
Lessons from across Europe

in the Mediterranean coastal communities even for those who have not
completed compulsory education. In Greece, one of the primary reasons for an
early departure from education is involvement in a family business or another
family related matter. Early school-leaving is relatively common among pupils
whose parents run a micro business or are self-employed.
Labour market opportunities can provide a comparative advantage for the
low-skilled in contexts where employment opportunities are geared towards the
skills and interests of the early school leaver (Eckstein and Wolpin, 1999). A
number of studies point out that early school leaving is not a negative choice in
all cases; it can allow some young people to focus on their real career interests
and start their career early (Youth Forum Jeunesse, 2008). However, evidence
implies that, in the long term, earnings and employment opportunities are more
likely to be constrained (Walther, 2002a) and that labour market experience does
not make up for an initial deficit of educational credentials (OECD, 2005). Young
school leavers tend to become locked in a cycle of recurrent unemployment and
low-skilled, short-term employment more often than young people with higher
level qualifications (Stokes, 2000). Female school leavers tend to be particularly
vulnerable to this (OECD, 2005). In fact, few people seem to benefit from leaving
school early, and many suffer from ‘multiple disadvantage’, being affected by
more than one of these issues. The next section takes a more in-depth look into
the social and economic consequences of early school leaving.

3.1.4. Consequences of early school leaving
Early school leaving has far-reaching individual, social, economic, cultural and
political implications. These include short-, medium- and long-term effects and
can be direct or indirect (Psacharopoulos, 2007; Walther and Pohl, 2005). Private
costs impact on individuals and are easier to observe than other costs impacting
on society as a whole. A feasibility study on the cost of school failure, carried out
by the European expert network on economics of education (Psacharopoulos,
2007), demonstrates that the trend of young people dropping out can result in
lower employment rates, increased welfare payments, lower productivity, and
lower tax revenues (see Figure 2). These social and economic costs and
implications are briefly discussed, although it has not been possible to discuss
wider social implications, such as the impact of early school leaving on active
citizenship, family, etc., in this report.

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