Making geographical sense of the Greek austerity measures: compositional effects and long-run implications

Abstract

This paper examines the geographical impact of the recent austerity measures in Greece. Owing to compositional differences across regions, the horizontal measures are found to amplify existing disparities. It is argued that under certain conditions, relating to wider spatial imbalances in the country, this can trigger cumulative divergence processes that may be hard to address in the future. To correct this, it is proposed that revenue-generating efforts should concentrate more on tackling tax evasion and increasing tax progressivity; while the reduction in public consumption should be compensated by targeted increases in public investment. Facilitating the early release of already earmarked European Union funds can be central for such a strategy.

Spatial segregation and migration in the city of Athens: Investigating the evolution of urban socio‐spatial immigrant structures

“…These indicators are then used to investigate the extent to which urban segregation is affected by ethnic diversity and economic structural characteristics, within the metropolitan area of Athens. Moreover, comparisons between the census years 2001 and 2011 help us explore whether the 2008 economic crisis has played an essential role in these distributional features with a small and local area level analysis, building upon the relevant work that mostly focused on regional level impacts (Hadjimichalis, ; Monastiriotis, ). Census data from the years 2001 and 2011 have been used for calculating the selected segregation indices.…”

“…However, this process was also affected by the economic restructuring mechanisms that were implemented at the same time, and continue to evolve. The study presented in this article attempts to address these issues, in order to better understand whether a spatial segregation of immigrants exists within the metropolitan area of upon the relevant work that mostly focused on regional level impacts (Hadjimichalis, 2011;Monastiriotis, 2011). Census data from the years 2001 and 2011 have been used for calculating the selected segregation indices.…”

The geographies of austerity

“…The global banking meltdown that erupted in late-2007 and deepened in 2008 in turn brought the 'long boom' to an abrupt end and plunged the economies of much of the First World into what has been the longest and deepest recession of the post-war period. Several states found themselves having to bail out or nationalize failing banks (see Drudy and Collins, 2011;Monastiriotis, 2011). At the same time, bills for welfare, unemployment compensation and other social support measures rose because of the recession, and some governments were forced to pump money into their economies (so-called 'quantitative easing') in an attempt to kick-start recovery.…”

El impacto de las políticas de austeridad en los espacios verdes urbanos según la percepción de los usuarios. Estudio de caso en tres ciudades españolas

“…Estos países han recibido ayuda financiera de la Unión Europea a cambio de un compromiso estricto de reducción del déficit público. Esta reducción se ha aplicado en todas las escalas político-administrativas (Monastiriotis, 2011;Chorianopoulos, 2012), desde los gobiernos centrales a las regiones y municipios, y ha afectado a la organización administrativa y a las políticas sociales (Cortés & González, 2014), así como a la inversión en equipamientos e infraestructuras (Papeles de Economía Española, 2013).…”