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Safety nets in (the) crisis: The case of Greece in the 2010s
Author(s) -
Matsaganis Manos
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/spol.12614
Subject(s) - austerity , retrenchment , recession , safety net , social protection , poverty , social policy , economic policy , social welfare , welfare , economics , development economics , business , political science , economic growth , market economy , public administration , law , politics , keynesian economics
This paper deals with the question of how the social safety net in Greece responded to, and was transformed by, the social emergency of the 2010s. The outbreak of the Eurozone crisis caught Greek welfare woefully unprepared for what was to come. Thereafter, as the recession fuelled the “demand” for social protection, the austerity reduced its “supply.” Nevertheless, this is not a straightforward case of austerity predictably causing welfare retrenchment or dismantling. Stringent budgets and policy inertia did result in reduced provision and diminished capacity to protect. Yet significant progress towards a less parochial and more effective social safety net also took place. The paper is an attempt to bring out the complexity and contradictions of recent developments. It concludes that the system of social protection that has emerged from the crisis is undoubtedly leaner, less robust in core policy areas such as pensions and health, but also more effective in protecting against extreme poverty than ever before.