An assessment of the Youth Employment Inventory and implications for Germany's development policy

This study aims to provide empirical evidence for informed policy decisions by analysing the Youth Employment Inventory (YEI). The YEI is an internet-based databank created to improve the basis for evidence-based policy making. It is a worldwide stock-taking exercise of employment-related projects for youth documenting programme design, implementation and results. As of May 2014, it includes 730 projects in 110 countries.

[The authors] discuss [the] findings against the background of the current setup of Germany's development policy to derive recommendations for potential change. Germany's development policy currently adopts an integrated, three-dimensional approach aimed at integrating three key dimensions to promote youth employment. Because important insights have already been incorporated in this setup, [the authors] conclude that major changes are not needed. However, some general principles should be thoroughly and consistently implemented throughout Germany's development policy. For example, there should be a strict orientation with respect to programme effectiveness as higher spending levels do not necessarily imply higher effectiveness or larger impact. [The authors'] results also highlight the fact that interventions should always be chosen carefully and context-specifically. It does not seem sufficient to simply design and implement interventions that are combined, integrated and multi-dimensional. Effective delivery, implementation and governance are crucial elements in this context, too.

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