Calls
\”Child Poverty, Youth (Un)employment and Social Inclusion\” – Workshop
Organized by the Comparative Research Program on Poverty (CROP), the Institute of Labor, and Democritus University of Thrace
Athens, November 19-21, 2014
Call for Papers
Poverty reduction has been high on the international agenda since the start of the millennium. Worldwide progress, however, has been slow and limited. Social protection responses to the crisis have been marginal or with mixed results in developing countries, while poverty and social exclusion have exacerbated in many developed countries. Within this context, the workshop will focus on the crucial issue of child and youth poverty and critically raise the question of what policy strategies can break the vicious cycle of intergenerational poverty transmission.
The number of unemployed youth has been rising globally and put a whole generation at risk. The number of youth broadly classified as NEET (not in employment, education or training) is alarmingly high, as is the persistently high proportion of young people “trapped” into conditions of in-work poverty across developed and developing countries.
This level of child and youth deprivation, as well as the socio-political conditions that allow this situation in the 21st century, has not been effectively embraced in the international dialogue on combating poverty. The lack of protection against child poverty not only constitutes a violation of basic human rights but it also entails high social and economic costs. Disadvantaged and poor children face very limited opportunities to achieve an adequate level of personal development and social integration. Living in poverty has a negative impact on their current family and social life as well as on the long-term, particularly if they remain in this situation for a long period of time.
A precarious labour market insertion is one of the ways through which socioeconomic difficulties extend into adulthood. These experiences create a vicious cycle in which the disadvantages faced in early stages of life significantly limit the possibilities of obtaining a decent job that would provide them with enough income to escape from the situation of vulnerability. Hence, developing a long-term strategy to tackle the intergenerational transmission of disadvantages is a critical priority to combat the structural causes of present and future poverty.
Considering the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the proximity of the Millennium Development Goals’ expiration date in 2015, it seems opportune to critically assess the progress made in terms of child (and youth) poverty reduction and the improvement of access to decent labour conditions. This kind of evaluation can be enriched by discussing new theoretical approaches on both the short and long-term causes and consequences of child and youth poverty, with a particular emphasis on decent labour as a main factor of social inclusion.
Papers to be submitted for this seminar should address one or several of the following suggested questions, issues or topics:
- What are the different conceptualisations on child and youth poverty and what are the debates around their specificities? How do these conceptualisations relate to social inclusion through labour?
- What are the long-term impacts of child poverty? How should we measure them? To what extent does child poverty reduce the probability of future accomplishments in terms of education, occupation and income? To what extent are factors like race, ethnicity or gender relevant to explain these relationships?
- How does the interface between education and work currently operate? How do gender and other issues affect that relation and transition? How can an early entry into the labour force, that interrupts education and harms future careers, be avoided? What are the best strategies to reduce the structural influence that sustain the inter-relations among child poverty, youth unemployment and informality, and poverty in adulthood?
- Have the conditional cash transfer programmes been effective in eradicating poverty, child labour and the inter- generational transmission of disadvantages? What are the theoretical arguments supporting this kind of public policy? To what extent are these policies integrated into comprehensive social protection schemes that assure universal access to quality basic services?
- What is the most effective strategy to tackle informality, instability and unemployment among young workers, especially poor young people?
- To what extent do training programmes or direct public employment improve the employability of poor young people and reduce youth unemployment? How should these programmes be designed in order to achieve these objectives based on available empirical and comparative research?
The organisers welcome papers from all over the world containing preferably (but not exclusively) comparative approaches to the above issues. They expect to publish the contributions in English (CROP-series, Zed Books, London) after a thorough process of peer review
The event’s Academic Committee will choose a maximum of 18 participants from across a variety of academic disciplines. The call is open to researchers around the world. Chosen participants will participate actively in presentations and discussions of all papers throughout the workshop.
Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses and medical insurance. Event support will cover room and board expenses during the days of the event. A limited number of travel subsidies are available based on relevance, quality and originality of submitted abstracts. For co-authored papers, one author only may apply for a grant.
Deadline for the Submission of Abstracts: May 30th, 2014
The abstract must not exceed 500 words (one page) and must include: the title of the proposed paper, the presentation of the subject, the central argument, the research question and/or hypothesis and the main bibliography. In addition, a CV no longer than one page must be submitted clearly indicating the name, title, nationality and contact information as well as a list of recent publications.
The abstract and the CV must be submitted by email to crop@uib.no. Any submission exceeding two pages will not be considered. The Academic Committee will notify accepted participants of their selection and about guidelines and format of the final paper, which must be submitted by October 13th, 2014.
