David Blanchflower said raising the school leaving age was 'an economic and social no-brainer'
The school leaving age should be raised to 18 to combat rising youth unemployment, a former economic adviser to the Bank of England has demanded.
David Blanchflower also suggests that firms in depressed regions such as Northern Ireland and the north-east of England should be allowed to hire young people without paying national insurance.
The economist will tell an international conference on young people in Belfast on Monday that youth unemployment is "the single biggest issue facing this government".
He will also warn that rising youth unemployment could be socially destabilising and create a reservoir of discontent that republican dissidents could exploit.
Prior to his speech at the Children in Conflict conference at the Europa hotel, Blanchflower said that while the coalition has a monetary policy, "they seem to have no regional policy".
The one-time member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee says he is "extremely concerned that all the good work and great achievements in Northern Ireland could be put at risk by youth unemployment".
In last week's budget George Osborne announced that Northern Ireland would be designated as a special enterprise zone. Raising the school leaving age to 18 is "an economic and social no-brainer", he says. "This doesn't mean necessarily that everyone up to 18 years of age has to study for A-levels. In a place like Derry, which suffers badly from youth unemployment, it might mean most kids staying on at school, learning to up-skill with practical training.
"It's better to have youngsters in school than on the street. Anyone aged 16 or 17 should be in some sort of training. In the United States they would be considered dropouts."
The economist, who is now based at Dartmouth College in the US, says: "This government has no plan other than trying to fiddle with the figures and pretend there is no problem."
Blanchflower points out that the ratio of young to older people on the dole is very high.
He says: "Overall unemployment is running at 8.4% but among the under-25s it is 23%."
One of the main reasons he agreed to attend the Belfast conference was, he said, because he was concerned about how high youth unemployment in Northern Ireland might impact on peace and power sharing.
The three-day conference will hear from a number of speakers on how poverty and unemployment impacts on children in conflict zones. Among those attending will be the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Matt Baggott.
A department for education spokesman last night said that the school leaving age in England is due to rise to 18. It is first due to rise to 17 in 2013 and then 18 in 2015.
David Blanchflower also suggests that firms in depressed regions such as Northern Ireland and the north-east of England should be allowed to hire young people without paying national insurance.
The economist will tell an international conference on young people in Belfast on Monday that youth unemployment is "the single biggest issue facing this government".
He will also warn that rising youth unemployment could be socially destabilising and create a reservoir of discontent that republican dissidents could exploit.
Prior to his speech at the Children in Conflict conference at the Europa hotel, Blanchflower said that while the coalition has a monetary policy, "they seem to have no regional policy".
The one-time member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee says he is "extremely concerned that all the good work and great achievements in Northern Ireland could be put at risk by youth unemployment".
In last week's budget George Osborne announced that Northern Ireland would be designated as a special enterprise zone. Raising the school leaving age to 18 is "an economic and social no-brainer", he says. "This doesn't mean necessarily that everyone up to 18 years of age has to study for A-levels. In a place like Derry, which suffers badly from youth unemployment, it might mean most kids staying on at school, learning to up-skill with practical training.
"It's better to have youngsters in school than on the street. Anyone aged 16 or 17 should be in some sort of training. In the United States they would be considered dropouts."
The economist, who is now based at Dartmouth College in the US, says: "This government has no plan other than trying to fiddle with the figures and pretend there is no problem."
Blanchflower points out that the ratio of young to older people on the dole is very high.
He says: "Overall unemployment is running at 8.4% but among the under-25s it is 23%."
One of the main reasons he agreed to attend the Belfast conference was, he said, because he was concerned about how high youth unemployment in Northern Ireland might impact on peace and power sharing.
The three-day conference will hear from a number of speakers on how poverty and unemployment impacts on children in conflict zones. Among those attending will be the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Matt Baggott.
A department for education spokesman last night said that the school leaving age in England is due to rise to 18. It is first due to rise to 17 in 2013 and then 18 in 2015.
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