The Negative Side Effects of Vocational Education

Abstract

Unemployment rates among immigrant youth are much higher than among the native-born population. Furthermore, youth unemployment rates vary considerably across countries. Yet there is little research that explains cross-national differences in immigrant’s relative unemployment risk. This article seeks to explain cross-national variation in ethnic penalties in youth unemployment with institutional and economic differences. Using data from the European Union Labor Force Survey (2004-2012) and focusing on recent non-Western immigrants of 15 to 24 years, the presented evidence shows that immigrant’s relative unemployment risk is larger in countries where the schooling system is more vocationally oriented because immigrant youth lacks the specific skills and educational signals that employers demand. The findings furthermore show that ethnic penalties are not associated with the strictness of employment protection legislation or with the inclusiveness of integration policies.