The 2007–8 financial crisis and subsequent 'Great Recession' particularly affected young people trying to make their way from education into the labour market at a time of economic uncertainty and upheaval. This is the first volume to examine the impact of the Great Recession on the developmental stage of young adulthood, a critical phase of the life course that has great significance in the foundations of adult identity. Using evidence from longitudinal data sets spanning three major OECD countries, these essays examine the recession's effects on education and employment outcomes, and consider the wider psycho-social consequences, including living arrangements, family relations, political engagement, and health and well-being. While the recession intensified the impact of pre-existing trends towards a prolonged dependence on parents and, for many, the precaritization of life chances, the findings also point to manifestations of resilience, where young people countered adversity by forging positive expectations of the future. ‘Building on Glen H. Elder Jr's 1974 classic Children of the Great Depression, Schoon and Bynner's volume underscores the importance for understanding human development of the concepts of agency and of linked lives in time and place. Drawing on longitudinal data from three nations, the chapters in this timely and significant work provide a unique treatment of youth development in the wake of the 2008 Great Recession and creatively advance the scholarly literatures of life-course and life-span developmental science.' Richard M. Lerner, Tufts University, Massachusetts ‘Given the challenges arising from political transformations and socioeconomic crises at the beginning of the twenty-first century, this book on how young people negotiate emerging adulthood is long overdue. It is a must-read for every scientist and practitioner interested in pathways to adulthood and their cultural, social, and personal variation, as well as a source of insight for every policy maker involved in helping to avoid a lost generation of young people.' Rainer K. Silbereisen, International Union of Psychological Science ‘This outstanding, must-read volume chronicles how young people around the globe are coping with the most devastating economic crisis since the Great Depression. Using top-notch research, renowned experts describe how the consequences of this event are penetrating all aspects of young people's lives and affecting their future educational prospects, employment, health, and social relationships.' Barbara Schneider, Michigan State University This book provides a dynamic and contextualized account of how young people's lives are shaped by economic instability and uncertainty. Ingrid Schoon is Professor of Human Development and Social Policy at the Institute of Education, University College London, and Research Professor at the Berlin Social Science Centre (Wissenschaftszentrum). John Bynner is Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences in Education at the Institute of Education, University College London, and Executive Editor of the international journal Longitudinal and Life Course Studies.