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This edited collection provides the first in-depth analysis of social policies and the risks faced by young people. The book explores the effects of both the economic crisis and austerity policies on the lives of young Europeans, examining both the precarity of youth transitions, and the function of welfare state policies.

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1. Introduction: Young People and Social Policy in Europe: New and Old Transitions; Myra Hamilton, Lorenza Antonucci and Steven Roberts 2. Constructing a Theory of Youth and Social Policy; Lorenza Antonucci, Myra Hamilton and Steven Roberts PART I: PRECARITY, SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND YOUTH POLICY IN EUROPE 3. The Complex Nature of Youth Poverty and Deprivation in Europe; Eldin Fahmy 4. At risk of deskilling and trapped by passion: a picture of precarious highly-educated young workers in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom; Annalisa Murgia and Barbara Poggio 5. Social exclusion, risk and the UK youth labour market; Clive Sealey 6. Young people at work in Greece before and after the crisis;Lefteris Kretsos 7. The impacts of employment instability on transitions to adulthood: The mileuristas young adults in Spain; Alessandro Gentile PART II: CHANGING TRANSITIONS, WELFARE SOURCES AND SOCIAL POLICIES 8. Labour market risks and sources of welfare among European youth in times of crisis; Lara Maestripieri and Stefania Sabatinelli 9 Have Nordic welfare regimes adapted to changes in transitions to adulthood? Unemployment insurance and social assistance among young people in the Nordic welfare states; Anna Angelin, Timo Kauppinen, Thomas Lorentzen, Olof Bäckman, Pasi Moisio, Espen Dahl, Tapio Salonen 10. The Dualisation of Social Policies towards Young People in France: Between Familism and Activation; Tom Chevalier and Bruno Palier 11. Young adults´ transitions to residential independence in Britain: the role of social and housing policy; Ann Berrington and Juliet Stone 12. Life-course policy and the transition from school to work in Germany; Walter R. Heinz 13. Youth transitions, precarity and inequality and the future of social policy in Europe; Lorenza Antonucci and Myra Hamilton

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"This is a very useful and important book. It properly gets to grips with some of the most critical challenges facing young people in the light of the recent economic crisis. Rather than concentrating only on issues of employment the book takes a more holistic approach to understanding young lives and additionally locates this insightful and careful analysis within a consideration of longer term trends in youth transitions. A great achievement and essential reading for anyone interested in youth transitions in Europe both in the current economic context and beyond it." - Tracy Shildrick, University of Leeds, UK

"This highly readable and well-structured volume reviews and contrasts a range of policies affecting young people within and across European countries. The editors ought to be congratulated for successfully connecting research on ´youth transitions´ with comparative social policy analysis." - Jochen Clasen, University of Edinburgh, UK

"The implications for young people entering the new economy are far-reaching and this book provides a rich illustration of the impact of precarity on young people across Europe, highlighting the inadequacies of policy in States that have abdicated responsibility for providing equally for all of their citizens." - Andy Furlong, University of Glasgow, UK

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