www.iepn.org November 2014 The Future of Youth in Europe and Israel: Social Exclusion and the Quality of Democracy Edited by Prof. Stephan Stetter, Dr. Roby Nathanson, Itamar Gazala and Bastian Sendhardt Israeli Perspective: The Young population is the driving force that contributes to the growth of the Israeli economy in various aspects: economic, educational, social, academic and public. The State of Israel is characterized by a high proportion of young people in relation to the European countries. A vast share of the younger population in Israel feels that the state has failed in ensuring their future; despite having paid their dues, fulfilled their civic duties and having chosen the desired professional and academic path – their financial horizon is obscure. Young people in Europe also undergo significant challenges, more about that later, and it was therefore decided to hold a seminar of the IEPN in Warsaw on"The Future of Youth in Europe and Israel", in order to identify these challenges and propose policy measures to help young people get through them. The most prominent manifestation of the hardships that befall youths and the depreciation in their real salaries(as is with most of Israel›s population) is the constant and steep rise in real-estate prices. In addition, many of the academic student population in Israel face the difficulties of financing their schooling and living and finding relevant and profitable jobs, having completed their studies. While many European countries see an even share, or even higher, electing between common academic trajectory and vocational training, in Israel vocational training entices a negligible portion. Most of the population deems professional education as unwanted, due to and resulting in a lack of quality professional schools. A study published by the Research Department of the Bank of Israel on April 2014 suggests that young working families have a low income in relation to their average income over their lives and have high expenditures. Therefore, it is acceptable in most European countries to help such families through tax benefits, child allowances, subsidized services and benefits. The assistance to young working families in Israel is significantly lower than the common level in other European countries. Therefore, the study authors recommend that, according to a simulation of increasing benefits to average families with young children up to the common level in the OECD countries, while raising tax rates for older families. This balanced budget policy, and with time including the individual income as well, can significantly increase the utility of the population, thanks to consumption smoothing over the life cycle of the family. The services provided to the youth originate from several organizations that are uncoordinated and operate in a limited fashion, addressing specific and sectorial issues. In addition, the Israeli governments through the years have not created an encompassing policy to aid youths and underprivileged groups, especially in regards of housing initiatives or reducing the volatility of market prices. Economic horizon for young people: During the social protests of summer 2011, the young public cried out against the high cost of living, especially housing prices, and called for a change of priorities. Since the fall of 2013, the public discourse began to engage the phenomenon of emigration of many young Israelis from the country in pursuit of economic opportunities and better living conditions. According to a survey conducted at the youth centers by the JDC in 2010, it is apparent that large segments 1 11 1