Macro-Determinants of NEET: An Ecological Study at the Country Level of Analysis for the Period 1997–2020

The aim of the present study was to examine macro-determinants of the Not Engaged in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) rate with the country as the unit of analysis. Data from 40 countries were extracted from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database. Linear mixed models were used to examine associations between the NEET rate and gross domestic product (GDP), population density, life expectancy, social spending, homicide rate, part-time employment, poverty, social inequality (GINI index), and education spending. As part of a sensitivity analysis, the analysis was repeated using open data from the World Bank Group. GDP and social spending were uniquely associated with the NEET rate after controlling for the effects of other factors. Social inequality, poverty, and education spending showed borderline significant associations with the NEET rate. The findings of the present ecological study showed associations between environmentally unfavourable conditions or harshness and the NEET rate at the country level and may inform appropriate policy measures to contain and promote a decrease in the NEET rate.