Globalization, Uncertainty and Youth in Society is one of a series of books which presents the results of the international and multidisciplinary research program ‘GLOBALIFE—Life Courses in the Globalization Process’. The program was based at the Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg, and ran from 1999–2005, including experts from eleven different countries who studied the implications of the globalization process for individuals in industrialized societies. The research presents a systematic empirical examination of how global developments impact the life courses of individuals in a range of modern societies. Unlike much of the literature on globalization the GLOBALIFE project findings are not limited to the economic dimension but include a multi-causal intersection of economic, technological, cultural and political changes.

This collection of essays examines how youths in 14 different industrialized societies make the important transition from youth to adulthood in an era of globalization and rising uncertainty. It investigates how the institutions that operate on social groups of youths impact on their ability to make decisions that will determine their life course as an adult. Globalization, Uncertainty and Youth in Society takes an empirical approach to the topic, bringing the individual and nation-specific institutions back into the discussion on globalization.

The Editors

Hans-Peter Blossfeld is the director of the GLOBALIFE program and is the Professor and Chair in Comparative Sociology at the Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg. He has been Editor of European Sociological Review and is Associate Editor of International Sociology.

Erik Klijzing is the Executive Director of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population in France. He has worked internationally as a population expert including positions with the United Nations.

Melinda Mills is Assistant Professor in the Department of Socio-Cultural Sciences at the Vrije University, Amsterdam.

Karin Kurz is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg. Her research interests include social inequality, social stratification, housing, the labor market and the life course.