According to the economic theory, non-employment periods during the first years of the job career may have negative effects on the subsequent career. This work quantifies these effects using Italian data and it studies if these effects vary according to the conditions of the regional labor market.
There is clear evidence that the effects of non-employment are persistent: on average, every day of non-employment during the first years of the professional career means an additional day of non-employment during the six subsequent years. However, the consequences of youth non-employment are smaller in periods of economic downturns and in regions with high unemployment rates.
Published in 2023 in: Italian Economic Journal / Rivista italiana degli economisti, v.9, 2, pp. 475-499.
