Open AccessThe social impact of the ‘Social solidarity income’ in Greece: A qualitative interpretation
Author(s) -
Θεόδωρος Σακελλαρόπουλος,
Varvara Lalioti,
Nikos Kourachanis
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
koinōnikī synochī kai anaptyxī/koinōnikī synochī kai anaptyxī
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2459-4156
pISSN - 1790-9368
DOI - 10.12681/scad.25763
Subject(s) - solidarity , social solidarity , allowance (engineering) , interpretation (philosophy) , sociology , economics , political science , social science , operations management , law , politics , computer science , programming language
The present article sheds light on the implementation of the ‘Social Solidarity Income’ (SSI) in Greece, an example of a guaranteed minimum income (GMI). Drawing on the findings of 40 semi-structured interviews carried out in five selected municipalities, the article focuses on the ‘social impact’ of the SSI. More specifically, it investigates two inter-related themes: a) the social situation of beneficiaries and the survival strategies they used before and after receiving the SSI; and b) aspects of the SSI that should be improved at the implementation stage. It is argued that, despite certain positive elements of the SSI, such as the monetary allowance, which is a key component of the SSI and assists beneficiaries in covering their basic needs, the impact of the SSI on the lives of individuals is relatively small and a large proportion of the beneficiaries continue to rely on the survival strategies they used before implementation of the SSI