ONE THIRD OF YOUNG PEOPLE DO NOT PURSUE THEIR EDUCATION

Gökçe Uysal, Melike Kökkızıl and Selin Köksal

This research brief evaluates the education and labor market status of young people aged between 15 and 19 in Turkey by using the 2013 and 2014 Household Labor Force Survey data.  According to the data, one third, i.e. 2 million 175 thousand young people do not pursue their education. 73.6 percent of young people who do not pursue education are at most primary school graduates. Unusual proportions of dropouts do not enter to labor market, either. Almost 900 thousand young people are neither in education nor in the labor market and 73 percent of them are women. Even though 12 years compulsory education provides higher enrolment rates, the absenteeism remains unaddressed. Investing in youth’s human capital and increasing labor productivity by reintegrating the youth back into the education system are crucial if Turkey aims to escape the middle income trap.

doc. ResearchBrief195

pdf. ResearchBrief195