Inequality, Technology and Job Polarization of the Youth Labor Market in Europe

Abstract

This paper presents a connecting methodology in order to trace the emerging dynamics of inequality for the youth populace of Europe. We determine that the development of these dynamics are directly affected by the advancement of technology, and especially related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), owing to their broad encompassing effects on various sectors of employment, education and societal structures. Firstly, the drivers of technological progress were analysed comparing 28 European countries simultaneously over a period extending from 2007 to 2013. Secondly, the relative positioning of these countries with respect to their technological standing was analysed using macro socio-economic indicators, in order to trace the relationship between technological advancement and their comparative levels of inequality for the youth population of their countries. Finally, a methodology was developed in order to ascertain the validity of our findings with the aid of a comprehensive indicator that encapsulates the factors governing the technological standing of a country. These exercises were performed on a granular distribution of the European youth populace and over a range of sectors of employment, in order to provide a heuristic connection between education, employment, income levels and ICT.

Keywords: Youth, Job Polarization, Inequality, Education, Wages, Sectors, ICT, Knowledge-Intensive services, Clustering

JEL Classification: B40, C32, C43, D62, D78, E24, E25, F02, F42, H72, I22, I28, J11, J22, J23, J24,J30, J31, J64, L80