Who are the Victims of the Crisis? The Social Impact of the Crisis on Youth Unemployed University Graduates from Greece and Spain in a European Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The current financial and economic crisis, which has largely afflicted Southern European countries, could be seen as a complex system of economic failures which have caused considerable effects in social, political and cultural level. The central dynamics of this crisis, focusing on the economic and political governance have influenced societal and individual functioning of marginalised populations in Greece and Spain, such as youth. This review examines the social impact of the crisis on young unemployed graduates with tertiary education, analysing their views and experiences about the current economic and political upheavals caused in Greece and Spain. This recession, which is comparable with Great Depression on its extent and duration, has created considerable social problems including increase in joblessness, poverty, and future uncertainty of the young populations. The increasing unemployment levels in Greece and Spain have direct implications in psychological well-being, and adverse effects for the integration of young people in the society by triggering the danger of social and economic exclusion. The limited job opportunities together with the elimination of the social safety nets accelerate the phenomena of immigration of high-skilled young graduates, inhibiting the development of their national economies. This paper tries to test the empirical validity of the problems occurred due to the high levels of unemployment on high-skilled youth populations of the two countries, considering the available protective factors. A further examination includes the recent European governance issues alongside with political decisions in national level, which have shaped public opinion and formed the views of youth unemployed populations in Southern Europe regarding the causality of the crisis. These political processes have been conceptualised in this research, providing an understanding of the social and cultural values which have defined such actions.