Abstract
Implementation of the memorandum policies has increased social inequalities, imposed material deprivation on a large proportion of the population, greatly reduced wages and pensions, worsened employment conditions, spurred unemployment, downgraded healthcare conditions, reduced population and increased immigration. But there was also a category of very wealthy people who have seen their wealth increase.
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Notes
- 1.
Taxation of income has grown as a percentage of GDP from 8.4% in 2009 to 10.3% in 2016 and total tax revenue risen from 32.5% to 41.2%. This is attributable to the abolition of many exemptions and concessions that were previously part of the taxation process for natural persons, to the increase in taxes on property ownership and the increase in the coefficients for indirect taxation. The result of all this would be that in 2014 the total tax burden as a proportion of gross income for a couple with two children where only one parent works would be at 28.7% (compared to 22.2% for EU21, 20.1% for the OECD) (Kaplanoglu 2017: 71).
- 2.
Which means that these people have to live from less than 12.63 EUR per day (if living alone) or survive on less than 6.62 EUR per day and person (for a household composed of 2 adults and 2 children below 14 years of age).
- 3.
In other words, they have to survive on less than 8.42 EUR per day (for a single household) or on less than 4.42 EUR per day and person for a family household with 2 adults and 2 children.
- 4.
Material deprivation—proportion of people facing serious economic difficulties with the result that they lack least four basic items from the total of nine: (a) difficulties in meeting regular expenses such as rent or instalments on loan repayments, regular bills (electricity, water, natural gas, credit card payments or instalments on household appliance, and so on; (b) financial inability to pay for one week’s holiday; (c) financial inability to purchase food including chicken, meat, fish or vegetables of equivalent nutritive value every other day; (d) financial inability to face unexpected but necessary expenses to the sum of around €384; (e) financial inability to afford a telephone (including a mobile phone); (f) financial inability to afford a colour television; (g) financial inability to afford a washing machine; (h) financial inability to afford a private car and (i) financial inability to afford adequate heating.
- 5.
Resulting in a 62.5% reduction in monthly consumption of heating oil in the 2008–2013.
- 6.
It is largely attributable to this that Greece has currently the highest rate of housing cost overburden in the European Union with increased steeply from 18.1% (2010) to 40.7% (2014).
- 7.
The 2010 figure was 28.2% but for the figure of €584.
- 8.
The “fakelaki” is a particularly widespread practice in Greece, and involves the patient giving an extra sum (in a small envelope—fakelaki in Greek) to a doctor in a public hospital to ensure that treatment is made available more promptly.
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Sakellaropoulos, S. (2019). The Social Impact of the Crisis. In: Greece’s (un) Competitive Capitalism and the Economic Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14319-0_5
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