In this innovative book, Professor Alan France tells the story of what impact the 2007 global crisis and the great recession that followed has had on our understandings of youth.

Drawing on eight countries as case studies he undertakes an in-depth sociological analysis of historical and contemporary developments in post-sixteen education, training, work, and welfare policy to show how the ecological landscape of youth has been affected. He maps the growing influence of neoliberalism as a political strategy in each of the countries, showing how, after the crisis, it is accelerating the reconfiguration of institutions and practices that are central to the lives of the young.

This book is essential reading for students of youth studies, sociology and policy, seeking a greater understanding of international public and social policy in relation to the youth question.

"I would highly recommend this book to scholars and students of political economy, the life course, and youth studies and the transition to adulthood. The substantive arguments are engaging, and the mode of analysis...will, I hope, influence future research in these fields." American Journal of Sociology
"This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand that the global financial crisis means for young people – it has astounding depth and breadth and sets new agendas in the field of youth studies." Johanna Wyn, Director, Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne
"One of the strengths of the book - and the key to its undoubted value to non-academic readers - is France's mastery of both the detail of social policy, and how policy interacts with lives actually lived by today's young people." SPERI Blog
"With a rare, global perspective, this is a timely, valuable and important book that maps the social and economic fortunes and likely futures of young people after `the Great Recession’." Rob MacDonald, Teeside University
"An extremely timely analysis of the conditions faced by young people in period following the Great Recession. With a strong theoretical foundation and an excellent empirical coverage of eight countries within the Global North, France explores the everyday worlds inhabited by young people, at the same time reminding us of the persistence of old inequalities and of the ineffectiveness of core policies." Andy Furlong, University of Glasgow

Professor Alan France is Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He has researched and written extensively for over 20 years on the ‘youth question’ and youth policy.