Abstract

The situation of youth unemployment has emerged as one of the biggest socio-economic problems in Afghanistan, causing a host of social issues that pose a risk of community instability and sustainable development. Although it is important, there is still little empirical evidence on the linkage between youth unemployment and social issues in Nangarhar Province. The study looks into the role of youth unemployment in exacerbating social issues by questioning 232 respondents from the different groups of youth including unemployed youth, employed youth, students, informal workers and the community representatives using a structured questionnaire. The study has added value to the literature by supplying empirical evidence from a conflict affected area, and by analyzing the relationship between unemployment and various aspects of social issues in a unified framework. The study results show that youth unemployment is positively correlated with social issues (crime, drug abuse, psychological stress, violence and social instability) with statistically significant values. The regression analysis also shows that youth unemployment is a major determinant of social problems, and the research instrument also had high reliability and internal consistency. The results support the alternative hypothesis, where youth unemployment is one of the significant factors which can cause social problems in Nangarhar Province. The results of the study have significant policy and research implications with focus on the comprehensive employment creation, vocational training, support of youth entrepreneurs and targeted youth development programs for the reduction of youth unemployment, social cohesion in Afghanistan and sustainable socio-economic development.

Keywords

Youth Unemployment Social Problems Crime Social Instability Employment