In 2003, when Germany was known as the sick man of Europe, German youth unemployment was lower than general level of unemployment in Germany. This fact in particular illustrates that youth unemployment has a lot to do with structural causes, but very little to do with cyclical influences. What exactly is meant by structural causes? Where do the biggest problems lie?
Ratings of structured financial products, in particular, are subject to model risks and the risk that assumptions about, say, the development of macroeconomic data or default correlations  2  BIS Review 144/2007  turn out in retrospect to be unsustainable. The assumptions made should therefore be disclosed.