Youth Unemployment and the Risk of Social Exclusion - A Social Policy Study on Social Integration

Author: Zeng Qun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This book employs grounded theory methods to explore the social consequences of youth unemployment in Shanghai and examines whether China's social policies have promoted social integration in this regard. The research question is: What is the impact of unemployment on the social integration of Shanghai youth? In the process of these impacts, what role do the national welfare system and the family system play? The study finds that unemployed youth in Shanghai face the risk of social exclusion in areas such as accessing national welfare, economic status, consumption, leisure and time allocation, social interaction, and life transitions. The reason lies in the fact that China's social policies prioritize systemic integration, shifting the responsibility for unemployment support to families while lacking policies to support families in fulfilling and promoting their protective functions. As a result, the family has become the primary social institution ensuring the social integration of unemployed youth. However, the realization of the family's social security function is not inevitable; it depends on the harmonious interaction of numerous factors such as family economic resources, family structure, family ethics, and family relationships, and is the outcome of "negotiation." When families fail, unemployed youth are inevitably excluded from society. The study suggests that China's social policy goals should emphasize both systemic integration and social integration: establishing a social rights perspective where rights and obligations are fairly matched; formulating policies to support families; and adopting a "new social policy" perspective to expand the scope of social policy intervention. The book is well-written, with a rigorous structure and comprehensive literature review, demonstrating appropriate theoretical application and offering unique and innovative insights on relevant issues. The publication of this book not only fills the gap in Chinese academic understanding of the issues and needs of unemployed youth but also provides a new theoretical framework and research methodology for further applying social exclusion theory to explore various social problems.