Youth Inclusion Policies and NEETs’ Targeting Requirements in Arab Countries

The current research analyzes the trend of the NEETs, or young individuals that are not in education, employment, or training, in the Arab economies, based on the estimated NEET data in the contribution of Driouchi and Harkat (2017). Evidence shows that the trends of the NEETs are increasing in 9 Arab economies, decreasing in Algeria and statistically not significant for the remaining countries. This is assumed to be related to the absence of policies, programs, and strategies that directly target this category of youth. The present contribution assesses also, the determinants of the NEETs using Granger Causality test. The link between this category of youth and variables such as education, macroeconomic, and governance is assessed. The empirical findings indicate that each of the Arab economies exhibits a unique model with specific factors leading to the changes of this segment of population. This provides supporting evidence of the surrounding environment of the NEETs, and gives incentives to policy makers for monitoring through targeted policies, the significant factors that enable this category of youth.