Precarious Youthspaces of Work and Diverse Economies in the EU South: A Conceptualization Attempt

Abstract

Youth disengagement is widespread in the less developed regions of advanced capitalism, and precarity is constantly (re)produced in the youth labour markets there. In this context, ‘diverse economies’ such as the social economy (SE) and the digital platform-induced sharing economy (DPSE) have emerged as policy solutions to pressing social, economic and environmental challenges, particularly in the south of the EU. However, most relevant studies examine labour in these new economies without considering the socio-spatial and political factors at play. This article proposes a spatially sensitive conceptualization of the relationship between youth disengagement and employment in the SE and DPSE. Drawing on key concepts from critical geography and geographical political economy, as well as recent research on the spatiality of youth, the article suggests that contemporary ‘precarious youthspaces of work’ are created by—and embedded in—‘dismantled techno-spatial fixes’ and discusses the reciprocal relationship between such youthspaces and diverse economies.