Cultural Pathways to Economic Self-Sufficiency and Entrepreneurship: Family Values and Youth Unemployment in Europe (CUPESSE)

The CUPESSE project was funded under the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme and was dedicated to the comparative analysis of youth unemployment in Europe. By taking into consideration issues related both to the demand and supply sides, the project aimed to obtain a comprehensive picture of the causes and consequences of unemployment among young people as well as to formulate policy strategies and recommendations for addressing this ever-growing issue. The project brought together a broad network of researchers and practitioners from the fields of economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. Organised around 8 work packages, the project engaged 12 partner institutions from EU Member States (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and two Associated Countries (Switzerland and Turkey), in which original qualitative and quantitative data was collected (in multi-generation in-depth interviews and a large-scale survey among young adults aged 18 to 35).

As an innovative project that connected a diverse group of actors and institutions from all over Europe, CUPESSE made a substantive contribution to understanding the complex processes regarding the employment situation of youth in Europe. With its multi-method, multidisciplinary and encompassing perspective, CUPESSE provides significant insights that not only help  comprehend the multifaceted concepts of economic self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship but also serve as a basis for policy recommendations that will be relevant for meeting the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy.

The project consortium has generated numerous publications, which can be found on the website of the project (www.cupesse.eu). The data collected in the CUPESSE large-scale survey has been handed over to GESIS data archive and is available to the scientific community.