title: "It's about community" - Finding Local Solutions to Local Problems: Exploring Responses to the Social Problem of Youth Unemployment

authors: Whitham, Michael Philip

subjects: Youth

abstract: The purpose of this research is to explore the policies and practices associated with the social „problem‟ of youth unemployment. A major focus of this research is a case study of the employment programme being utilised in Otorohanga to address this problem. This is an initiative consisting of 11 key projects to reduce youth unemployment. The projects have consistently created a situation in Otorohanga where nobody under the age of 25 is registered with Work and Income New Zealand as unemployed. This outcome has been achieved by ensuring that local youth are either in local training programmes, in employment or in apprenticeships. The research project uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods and provides a thematic analysis, from a labour studies perspective, of both literature and empirical findings from a range of interviews. In order to undertake this research, the thesis firstly provides a review of the literature on youth, unemployment, engagement and policies. Secondly, it highlights the employment policies utilised within New Zealand from the late 1990s through to 2011 and in order to examine the changes in political ideology between the Labour-led and National-led central government policies. Thirdly, the study incorporates interviews with a selection of key stakeholders involved in the successes of the Otorohanga projects.

The central arguments in this thesis are: 1) that youth are a significant and poorly understood demographic; and that youth unemployment is perceived to be a social problem due to the economic and social disadvantages for youth which are exacerbated by structural inequalities; 2) that the current policies for dealing with youth unemployment, especially the emphasis on education and the impact of neo-liberal ideologies only have limited success in dealing with the issue of youth unemployment; 3) that no current policy understands or addresses the needs of youth specifically, therefore the social problem of youth unemployment will continue to be perpetuated; and, 4) that policies which draw on local, community driven solutions, grounded in labour market realities can be successful.

On this basis, the research provides good practice solutions which highlight the importance of incorporating community support, passionate leadership and employment-led training options in projects designed to address youth unemployment. By identifying these good practice solutions the policy aspects that led to the success of the Otorohanga projects can be shared with other regional initiatives in New Zealand. Should this occur, the thesis aims of contributing towards reducing youth unemployment in New Zealand can be achieved and have the potential to reduce youth unemployment in other centres.

text: "It's about community" - Finding Local Solutions to Local Problems: Exploring Responses to the Social Problem of Youth Unemployment The purpose of this research is to explore the policies and practices associated with the social „problem‟ of youth unemployment. A major focus of this research is a case study of the employment programme being utilised in Otorohanga to address this problem. This is an initiative consisting of 11 key projects to reduce youth unemployment. The projects have consistently created a situation in Otorohanga where nobody under the age of 25 is registered with Work and Income New Zealand as unemployed. This outcome has been achieved by ensuring that local youth are either in local training programmes, in employment or in apprenticeships. The research project uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods and provides a thematic analysis, from a labour studies perspective, of both literature and empirical findings from a range of interviews. In order to undertake this research, the thesis firstly provides a review of the literature on youth, unemployment, engagement and policies. Secondly, it highlights the employment policies utilised within New Zealand from the late 1990s through to 2011 and in order to examine the changes in political ideology between the Labour-led and National-led central government policies. Thirdly, the study incorporates interviews with a selection of key stakeholders involved in the successes of the Otorohanga projects.

The central arguments in this thesis are: 1) that youth are a significant and poorly understood demographic; and that youth unemployment is perceived to be a social problem due to the economic and social disadvantages for youth which are exacerbated by structural inequalities; 2) that the current policies for dealing with youth unemployment, especially the emphasis on education and the impact of neo-liberal ideologies only have limited success in dealing with the issue of youth unemployment; 3) that no current policy understands or addresses the needs of youth specifically, therefore the social problem of youth unemployment will continue to be perpetuated; and, 4) that policies which draw on local, community driven solutions, grounded in labour market realities can be successful.

On this basis, the research provides good practice solutions which highlight the importance of incorporating community support, passionate leadership and employment-led training options in projects designed to address youth unemployment. By identifying these good practice solutions the policy aspects that led to the success of the Otorohanga projects can be shared with other regional initiatives in New Zealand. Should this occur, the thesis aims of contributing towards reducing youth unemployment in New Zealand can be achieved and have the potential to reduce youth unemployment in other centres.

year: 2012

title: Household bargaining over wealth and the adequacy of women's retirement incomes in New Zealand

authors: Gibson, John

subjects: bargaining

abstract: Bargaining models of household wealth accumulation point to a potential conflict of interest between husbands and wives. Wives are typically younger than their husbands and have longer life expectancy, so they must expect to finance a longer retirement period. Therefore, when they have greater relative bargaining power, households will accumulate more wealth. There is some weak evidence for this in the United States, but this article finds the opposite pattern in New Zealand, where women's greater bargaining power results in a lower net worth in the pre-retirement cohort of couples. In New Zealand, where public pensions are more generous than in the US and are not affected by holdings of private wealth or income, it may not be rational for women with greater relative bargaining power than their spouses to favor wealth accumulation. These results indicate the importance of the policy context when considering household bargaining models.

text: Household bargaining over wealth and the adequacy of women's retirement incomes in New Zealand Bargaining models of household wealth accumulation point to a potential conflict of interest between husbands and wives. Wives are typically younger than their husbands and have longer life expectancy, so they must expect to finance a longer retirement period. Therefore, when they have greater relative bargaining power, households will accumulate more wealth. There is some weak evidence for this in the United States, but this article finds the opposite pattern in New Zealand, where women's greater bargaining power results in a lower net worth in the pre-retirement cohort of couples. In New Zealand, where public pensions are more generous than in the US and are not affected by holdings of private wealth or income, it may not be rational for women with greater relative bargaining power than their spouses to favor wealth accumulation. These results indicate the importance of the policy context when considering household bargaining models.

year: 2006

title: Reimagining community resilience through a Te Ao Maori worldview

authors: Boston, Megan

abstract: Efforts to improve community resilience have seen universal efforts to grow capabilities in disaster management for the built environment. Although comprehensive frameworks exist, the perspective used to derive these frameworks fails to address marginalised communities' vulnerabilities, including Indigenous Māori people. Colonization and socio-economic deprivation on Māori mean community response frameworks fail to reflect their values and specific needs when preparing and responding to natural disasters. The nature of Māori culture and values presents an opportunity to reimagine the scope of community resilience for an inclusive framework. The Māori history has resilient practices weaved into the very fabric of their culture, which knowledge has survived through the oral transmission of waiata, whakataukī, whakairo, and pūrakau. The practice of community resilience amongst ancient Māori was not consigned to singular events but instead is a holistic perspective to the manner of living. Sourcing and qualifying this information from people aligned and immersed in nature is the knowledge required to improve the frameworks to respond to natural disasters while expanding the literature on community resilience. A comprehensive analysis of traditional Māori resilience is conducted by evaluating a variety of Mātauranga Māori that relate to the resilient nature of Māori. This information is compared to modern Māori perceptions of community resilience using a derived earthquake scenario for the local Iwi Ngati Toa, located in the city of Porirua within the Wellington region. This information will enable a comprehensive definition of community resilience and improve disaster response frameworks to be more inclusive, safe, sustainable, and resilient.

text: Reimagining community resilience through a Te Ao Maori worldview Efforts to improve community resilience have seen universal efforts to grow capabilities in disaster management for the built environment. Although comprehensive frameworks exist, the perspective used to derive these frameworks fails to address marginalised communities' vulnerabilities, including Indigenous Māori people. Colonization and socio-economic deprivation on Māori mean community response frameworks fail to reflect their values and specific needs when preparing and responding to natural disasters. The nature of Māori culture and values presents an opportunity to reimagine the scope of community resilience for an inclusive framework. The Māori history has resilient practices weaved into the very fabric of their culture, which knowledge has survived through the oral transmission of waiata, whakataukī, whakairo, and pūrakau. The practice of community resilience amongst ancient Māori was not consigned to singular events but instead is a holistic perspective to the manner of living. Sourcing and qualifying this information from people aligned and immersed in nature is the knowledge required to improve the frameworks to respond to natural disasters while expanding the literature on community resilience. A comprehensive analysis of traditional Māori resilience is conducted by evaluating a variety of Mātauranga Māori that relate to the resilient nature of Māori. This information is compared to modern Māori perceptions of community resilience using a derived earthquake scenario for the local Iwi Ngati Toa, located in the city of Porirua within the Wellington region. This information will enable a comprehensive definition of community resilience and improve disaster response frameworks to be more inclusive, safe, sustainable, and resilient.

year: 2023