Youth unemployment policies: Review of the Danish Youth Unemployment Programme and the British New Deal for Young People

Both countries were affected by substantial youth unemployment during the early 90s, triggering the development of comprehensive activation programmes for this group of unemployed. The Danish programme was introduced in 1996, whereas the British programme, the New Deal for Young People, began in a number of areas in January 1998, followed by national provision in April 1998. Because of this more recent introduction of the British programme, the New Deal evaluation is still under way. However, the pilot evaluations and present monitoring data offer sufficient information to review this measure. The Danish programme has been evaluated extensively. This offered an excellent opportunity to compare the specific design and effects of both programmes, which have been tailored to the national circumstances.