International Article on Youth Employment by Foreign Trade Program Lecturer Talha Durmuş Published

The scientific article titled “Institutions Matter: Active Labour Market Policies and Youth Employment Across Development Levels in Europe”, authored by Lecturer Talha Durmuş from the Foreign Trade Program at Istanbul Gedik University Vocational School, has been published in the Istanbul Journal of Economics (İstanbul İktisat Dergisi), published by Istanbul University and indexed in the Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). The study employs econometric methods to examine the effects of active labour market policies on youth employment across 27 European Union countries, considering their levels of economic development, higher education indicators, and the proportion of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET).

The findings of the study suggest that public expenditure and employment incentives alone are insufficient to increase youth employment, highlighting the importance of education quality, institutional capacity, and coordination among social policies. In particular, the positive relationship between higher education attainment and youth employment, along with the limited effectiveness of employment policies in countries with high NEET rates, underscores the importance of aligning education systems with labour market needs. The study contributes to the international academic literature by providing insights into the development of sustainable and integrated policies to address youth unemployment.