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Anna Broka, doctoral student at Tallinn University School of Governance, Law and Society investigated in her thesis the pathways of youth transitioning into adulthood, highlighting the significant impact of welfare regimes on young people’s pathways to independence but also addressing the gaps in understanding how youth-oriented policies interact and complement each. By examining national differences in both Western and Eastern European countries, shaped by family structures, education systems, and labour market access, her research aims to reveal the diversity and complexity of youth trajectories across Europe.
Key findings of Anna Brokas’ thesis identify characteristics of different welfare regime types and operationalise the concept of youth welfare regimes. However, the inclusion of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries posed challenges due to the region’s labour market volatility and the unique historical evolution of its educational and social security systems. To overcome this, the study combines ideal-typical and real-typical welfare regime models, enriching the synergy between theoretical frameworks and empirical realities.
A comparative analysis of 12 EU countries highlights the allocation of six CEE countries into distinct welfare regime clusters across social and economic citizenship dimensions. Notably, Broka highlights three distinct welfare structures:
• Estonia exemplifies an individualised and enabling youth welfare citizenship regime, characterised by early youth autonomy, universal family benefits, lower education inequality, and an inclusive labour market.
• Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, and Slovenia align with familialised and monitored regimes, with universal education access, activation measures, and low in-work poverty.
• Bulgaria stands out with a familialised and denied citizenship regime, marked by extended family reliance, selective education opportunities, and limited activation measures addressing upskilling and employment challenges.
In Brokas’ case study, involving most of the EU countries, the results underscore the importance of policy complementarity in mitigating youth vulnerabilities, particularly for NEET (not in education, employment, or training) populations. Broka identifies two policy routes that effectively reduce NEET rates. One is combining social protection with active labour market policies (ALMPs), and education, while the second one – social protection, education, and housing support.
Broka emphasizes that the holistic perspective should advances beyond employment-focused school-to-work transition, rather investigate how education, social work, health, and care services intersect to support disadvantaged youth, including individuals with intellectual disabilities. She hopes that her dissertation provides a valuable contribution to the discourse on youth welfare regimes, highlighting policy mixes that safeguard young people during their transition to adulthood while addressing regional disparities in welfare provision.
Anna Broka from the Tallinn University School of Governance, Law and Society defended the doctoral thesis “Youth welfare regimes in the era of social investment: exploring the concept and cross-national variations from the perspective of Central Eastern Europe” on 25 November. Thesis supervisor was Anu Toots, Distinguished Professor at Tallinn University, opponents were Kati Kuitto, Senior Researcher at Finnish Centre for Pensions and Rune Halvorsen, Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University.
This article was originally published on the webpage of Tallinn University.
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