The distribution of declared income is a key issue in economic analysis as well as social and welfare policy. However, while inequality in declared income reflects the prosperity and welfare conditions that prevail in economy over a certain period, the geography of declared income and income inequality provide additional evidence on the variations in wealth and well-being of people across space within a country. The geography of declared income and income inequality becomes a particularly significant subject of study in times of economic crisis with soaring unemployment rates and severe cuts in wages and pensions. Nowhere in Europe are these conditions more evident than in Greece during the period of the Great Recession that began in 2008. So, this research project aims at analysing and portraying the geographical aspects of declared income and income inequality in Greece during the period 2000-2015. The analysis will be conducted at the Municipal geographical level which includes the 325 municipalities of the country.
The Project
The objectives of the project will be reached through:
a. the construction of a unique data base that will include inflation-adjusted declared income micro-data along with demographic, economic, social, political and geographical variables relevant to the analysis;
b. participation in national and international conferences relevant to the research project and the interaction with the national and international scientific community;
c. the publication of a series of working and policy review papers;
d. the publication of academic papers in well-established peer-reviewed academic journals;
e. the construction of a Web-portal for the project;
f. the organisation of special sessions relevant to the project at national and international conferences; and
g. the organisation of policy debate meetings with the participation of the most relevant institutions and stakeholders for the dissemination of results.
Summing up, the subject of this research corresponds to one of the most alarming socio-economic problems of present times. The micro-level statistical data that will be utilized and the application of the most appropriate methodology which will be used to illustrate the Greek experience, provide the necessary conditions to make this research project capable of offering useful insights from the Greek experience and contributing to the international literature in the field.
Check out the leaflet (in Greek, in English), or the presentation of the Project (in Greek, in English).