MANAGEMENT AND FINANCING OF THE SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN THE YOUTH LABOR MARKET: THE DEVELOPING COUNTRY CASE STUDY

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to determine and analyze the impact of labor market management and financing in Kosovo, with a particular emphasis on labor market financing in the age group 18–24 years in Kosovo. In order to enrich this paper, a field survey was conducted, and the data were analyzed using comparative and empirical analysis. The findings of the study indicate that financial support for self-employment among young people in Kosovo is very low or negative, despite the fact that the regression coefficients of the variables in this study are statistically stable. In 2020, the youth unemployment rate in Western Balkan countries was over 26%, but it was much higher in Kosovo, at around 50% (Ramhorst, 2021). A significant portion of the young population, or approximately 48.6%, is unemployed, but the most pronounced unemployment is among women in this age group, which is approximately 53.5% compared to men at approximately 46.1% (Kosovo Agency of Statistics [KAS], 2021). The study recommends that labor market policymakers implement long-term labor market policies in order to create new jobs for young people in Kosovo, where employment is quite low, and so on.