No. 82. THE EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM OF SOCIAL PROTECTION ON POVERTY AND INEQUALITY IN GREECE AND THE EU (in Greek)
V. Missos. 2021. | ISBN 978-960-341-128-4
The Report follows a standard and well-established methodology of categorizing the EU countries among distinct systems of social protection based on some general characteristics concerning the beneficiaries (individuals, households, etc.), the level of transfers dedicated and the mechanism through which they are distributed among the income groups. However, some critical findings do not confirm the validity of this typology between distinct systems. More research on this issue and particularly on the evolved character of social welfare in Greece is certainly needed.
The main findings of the report at hand can be stressed as follows:
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- From 2009 and on, social security expenditures have gone through a detailed process of rationalization. This becomes evident if an alternative measure for the comparability of the level of social transfers per capita is introduced, using the Purchase Power Standard indexation. In addition, the reformation of the social security system is reflected in the percentage change and relation between those expenditures which are made after being “means-tested” and “non means-tested”.
- Income inequality, on the other hand, is a more complex issue. As the older EUSILC databases have confirmed, income inequality indices for Greece are consistently estimated to be relatively high. Hence, in Chapter 3, after a wide range of different indices are presented, it is concluded that Greece resembles more those countries that have recently become members of the EU and not those older members that form the core of the Union. The qualitative aspects of the former group are better understood if the chronic and persistent low impact of the “other than pensions” social security transfers are further considered
- In addition, household-type criteria are supposed to play an important role on the relative level of poverty. For example, households with dependent members seem to be faced with higher risks of poverty. Another criterion that is inversely related with household poverty is the age of its members – the higher the age of its members the lower the risk of poverty estimated and vice versa. Furthermore, the Greek SILC database suggests that further attention needs to be paid to single- parent households since the current system of social protection has been unable to track them effectively. Lastly, among all the different types of poor households, a particular type of four membered household –with two adults and two underaged children– is contributing more to poverty than any other type
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- Among the rest of the demographic and the socio-economic criteria, employment status seems to have been of importance. Breadwinners working part-time show a relatively high poverty risk even though their percentage share of poverty is very low. In addition, the same holds for the self-employed –both part and full timers– and of course, for the unemployed, whose rate hiked during the period of economic recession
- Lastly, no matter how central and important the issue of poverty is, a result that certainly needs to be further researched is that referring to the fraction of the poor population having a very small – close to zero – percentage of social transfers in their final disposable income. In other words, this result signifies a measure of the potential improvement of the system of social protection and may also provide valuable information for the socio-economic profile of this population