Personal and regional risk factors of being a NEET: a comparative study in Italy, France and Germany with LFS microdata

The number of young people classified as NEET (not in employment, education, or training) is of significant concern to policymakers because their disengagement from productive activities can have long-term social and economic consequences. Despite the importance of assessing individual as well as regional disparities that act as risk factors for NEET status, official statistics or meta-analyses illustrate results at very aggregate level, masking important risk predictors or conditions for developing targeted interventions. This paper aims at identifying potential determinants affecting the NEET condition in the 15–29 years age group, exploring demographic, educational and social determinants linked to the family of origin, as well as territorial-context factors. The analysis exploits the microdata of the Labour Force Survey (2021) as well as Eurostat regional statistics and is focused on three most populated European countries (Italy, France, and Germany) as representatives of different welfare regimes. Exploiting the detailed socio-demographic and familial profile created for individuals and the specification of many regional covariates, empirical findings suggest new evidences regarding significant (personal and environmental) risk factors of NEET status, also suggesting different policy implications for analyzed countries.