Greece After the Crisis: Still a south European welfare model?

Abstract:

The debt crisis that broke out in Greece in 2009 and the conditions accompanying the bail out loans received, led to a dramatic decrease in social spending and social benefits. At the same time the need to curb spending led to major reform initiatives that transformed key aspects of the welfare state, such as the pension and health systems. The paper tries to understand to what extent the changes introduced since the outbreak of the crisis constitute a radical departure from past institutional arrangements. To this end, it examines how the reforms introduced in key welfare institutions, the austerity measures adopted, alongside changes in the labour market and family arrangements have transformed the welfare state. It concludes that while the crisis has indeed triggered the introduction of radical reforms, it is premature to speak of a complete model change.