Greek women rushed to look for work when the crisis left their husbands jobless

But relatively few found jobs and the number of families with both spouses unemployed has increased, write Joan Daouli, Michael Demoussis and Nicholas Giannakopoulo

The ins and outs of Greek unemployment in the Great Depression

We investigate the unemployment inflows and outflows using micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey (1998-2013). Focusing on the post-2008 recessionary period, aggregate unemployment decompositions show that both, inflow and outflow rates affect unemployment variations. In particular, early in the recession the inflow rate dominates while later the outflow rate takes over. These findings remain unaltered when unemployment persistence and low transition rates are taken into account. Furthermore, applying multinomial regression techniques we find that the ins and outs of unemployment vary with individual-specific heterogeneity (gender, age, education, etc.). This heterogeneity however exhibits a differentiated impact in the pre- and post-2008 periods. Overall, the design of an effective employment policy in Greece needs to take into consideration the exceptionally low job finding rate (10%) and its composition in the ongoing labour market crisis

The determinants of body mass in Greece: Evidence from the National Health Survey

In this study we explore the determinants of body-weight in Greece utilizing information at the individual level from the National Health Survey of 2009. BMI has been treated as both, a cardinal and an ordinal measure of body-weight, while different estimation techniques were applied (OLS, ordered probit and unconditional quantile regression). In our attempt to identify the major determinants of BMI outcomes in Greece we employed a wide range of demographic, socio-economic, lifestyle, health-related and regional characteristics. The unconditional quantile estimates uncovered differences in the estimated impact of several correlates across the BMI distribution, highlighting their superiority vis-a-vis the simple mean-based linear models of BMI. Examining the entire BMI distribution and targeting specific segments of the Greek population can render public health policies against obesity more efficient and prolific

The ins and outs of Greek unemployment in the Great Depression

We investigate the unemployment inflows and outflows using micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey (1998-2013). Focusing on the post-2008 recessionary period, aggregate unemployment decompositions show that both, inflow and outflow rates affect unemployment variations. In particular, early in the recession the inflow rate dominates while later the outflow rate takes over. These findings remain unaltered when unemployment persistence and low transition rates are taken into account. Furthermore, applying multinomial regression techniques we find that the ins and outs of unemployment vary with individual-specific heterogeneity (gender, age, education, etc.). This heterogeneity however exhibits a differentiated impact in the pre- and post-2008 periods. Overall, the design of an effective employment policy in Greece needs to take into consideration the exceptionally low job finding rate (10%) and its composition in the ongoing labour market crisis

ADULT EQUIVALENT SCALES REVISITED

Use of the Tobit model for estimation of adult equivalent scale (AES) parameters and expenditure equations presupposes that zero observations represent exclusively corner solutions. This paper tests for the underlying causes of zero observations and estimates accordingly the AES parameters, the household size in adult equivalents and the resulting expenditure equations and consumption profiles. The empirical application concerns Greek household "soft" and "hard" cheese consumption. The statistical results indicate that for the examined cheese categories the "double hurdle participation" model adjusted for non-normality and heteroskedasticity is the appropriate model for the estimation of AES parameters and expenditure equations

Consumption Profiles for Various Food Groups in Greece

Adult Equivalent Scales (AES) in household consumption analysis are profoundly more appropriate and more revealing than the "average per capita" consumption, which treats every household member on an equal basis. This paper provides estimates of AES parameters for five important food groups of the typical Greek diet (meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and legumes). Data from the 1993/94 Household Budget Survey were used and a Tobit limited dependent variable model was employed for estimation purposes. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that the age and gender composition of Greek households is a major determinant of food demand and consumption. In addition, the true household size varies substantially among the examined food groups and differs significantly from the "number of persons" measure of household size.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

ADULT EQUIVALENT SCALES REVISITED

Use of the Tobit model for estimation of adult equivalent scale (AES) parameters and expenditure equations presupposes that zero observations represent exclusively corner solutions. This paper tests for the underlying causes of zero observations and estimates accordingly the AES parameters, the household size in adult equivalents and the resulting expenditure equations and consumption profiles. The empirical application concerns Greek household "soft" and "hard" cheese consumption. The statistical results indicate that for the examined cheese categories the "double hurdle participation" model adjusted for non-normality and heteroskedasticity is the appropriate model for the estimation of AES parameters and expenditure equations.adult equivalent scales, double-hurdle models, soft and hard cheese, Greece, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Consumption Profiles for Various Food Groups in Greece

Adult Equivalent Scales (AES) in household consumption analysis are profoundly more appropriate and more revealing than the "average per capita" consumption, which treats every household member on an equal basis. This paper provides estimates of AES parameters for five important food groups of the typical Greek diet (meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and legumes). Data from the 1993/94 Household Budget Survey were used and a Tobit limited dependent variable model was employed for estimation purposes. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that the age and gender composition of Greek households is a major determinant of food demand and consumption. In addition, the true household size varies substantially among the examined food groups and differs significantly from the "number of persons" measure of household size