Without purpose and strategy?: a spatio-functional analysis of the regional allocation of public investment in Greece

We utilise a large database on public investment at the prefecture (NUTS-3) level in Greece for the period 1976-2008 to examine the spatial and functional allocation of public investment in the country. We investigate the extent to which expenditures in different types of public investment are complementary across space and over time and examine their redistributive character. We also analyse regional specialisations and the geographical concentration of public investments and complementarily use an exploratory spatial data analysis to examine the extent of clustering of public investment and identify possible patterns in the geography of clusters and hotspots. Although our analysis uses predominantly descriptive tools, our results have confirmatory power, as they reveal a surprisingly random pattern for the spatial and functional allocation of public investment in Greece, thus raising important questions about the rationale for these allocations and, by implication, about the geographical, political and economic dynamics that underlie them. These questions obtain an additional salience in light of the administrative and fiscal reforms pursued currently by the Greek government under the pressure of the country’s sovereign debt crisis

Liberals, socialists, and pork-barrel politics in Greece

This paper analyses the role of pork-barrel politics in the allocation of public investment expenditures in Greece. It proposes a model which explicitly relates the allocation of public investment to electoral results using a unique dataset covering the period from the restoration of democracy in 1974 until 2009, just before the Great Recession that radically transformed the political panorama of the country. The analysis includes 10 legislative periods marked by governments of the two parties that dominated the political arena in Greece: the Liberal and the Socialist Party. The results show that Socialist and re-elected governments applied more expansionary fiscal policies relative to Liberals. The two main parties also used different tactics when it came to pork-barrelling: while the Socialists when in government rewarded/groomed their electoral fiefs, the Lib

Economic crisis and regional development in Greece

This paper sets out to examine the determinants of regional develop-ment in Greece before and during the economic crisis. By proposing an econo-metric model with spatial effects for the years 2005-2008 and 2009-2011, which represent the sub-periods of growth and decline of the Greek economy respec-tively, we make it possible to capture the different factors that affect the region-al economic development of the NUTS III regions in the country. Results high-light that the most urbanized and high income level regions are more affected by the economic crisis. However, these regions had been the ones that most benefited during the upturn of the economic activity. The same applies to the regions that are based on agriculture, which had benefited during the period of economic development but cannot sustain the gains of development during the recession. Specialization in manufacturing is an important determinant of re-gional development, either in times of growth or in times of crisis, while tourism generates benefits to the neighbouring regions in times of economic crisis. These results are also tested for geographical subsets of the country such as the North-South divide and regions belonging to the development axis of the coun-try (PATHE) versus the rest regions of the countr

In Search for Titanocene Complexes with Improved Cytotoxic Activity: Synthesis, X-Ray Structure, and Spectroscopic Study of Bis(η5-cyclopentadienyl)difluorotitanium(IV)

The 1 : 2 reaction of [Ti(η5-C5H5)2Cl2] and AgF in CHCl3/H2O yielded the fluoro analog [Ti(η5-C5H5)2F2] (1) in almost quantitative yield (C5H5 is the cyclopentadienyl group). The coordination about the TiIV atom formed by two fluoro ligands and the centroids of the cyclopentadienyl rings is distorted tetrahedral. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group C2cm. The lattice constants are a = 5.9055(4), b = 10.3021(5), c = 14.2619(9) Å, and α = β = γ = 90°. The complex has been characterized by elemental analyses and spectroscopic (IR, 1H NMR) data. A structural comparison of the four members of the [Ti(η5-C5H5)2X2] family of complexes (X = F, Cl, Br, I) is attempted

Use of the 2-Pyridinealdoxime/N,N′-Donor Ligand Combination in Cobalt(III) Chemistry: Synthesis and Characterization of Two Cationic Mononuclear Cobalt(III) Complexes

The use of 2-pyridinealdoxime (paoH)/N,N′-donor ligand (L-L) “blend” in cobalt chemistry has afforded two cationic mononuclear cobalt(III) complexes of the general type [Co(pao)2(L-L)]+, where L-L = 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) and 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy). The CoCl2/paoH/L-L (1 : 2 : 1) reaction system in MeOH gives complexes [CoIII(pao)2(phen)]Cl·2H2O (1·2H2O) and [CoIII(pao)2(bpy)]Cl·1.5MeOH (2·1.5MeOH). The structures of the complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The CoIII ions are six-coordinate, surrounded by three bidentate chelating ligands, that is, two pao− and one phen or bpy. The deprotonated oxygen atom of the pao− ligand remains uncoordinated and participates in hydrogen bonding with the solvate molecules. IR data of the complexes are discussed in terms of the nature of bonding and the known structures

Mononuclear lanthanide(III)-salicylideneaniline complexes: synthetic, structural, spectroscopic and magnetic studies

The reactions of hydrated lanthanide(III) [Ln(III)] nitrates and salicylideneaniline (salanH) have provided access to two families of mononuclear complexes depending on the reaction solvent used. In MeCN, the products are [Ln(NO3)3(salanH)2(H2O)]·MeCN, and, in MeOH, the products are [Ln(NO3)3(salanH)2(MeOH)]·(salanH). The complexes within each family are proven to be isomorphous. The structures of complexes [Ln(NO3)3(salanH)2(H2O)]·MeCN (Ln = Eu, 4·MeCN_Eu, Ln = Dy, 7·MeCN_Dy; Ln = Yb, 10·MeCN_Yb) and [Ln(NO3)3(salanH)2(MeOH)]·(salanH) (Ln = Tb, 17_Tb; Ln = Dy, 18_Dy) have been solved by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. In the five complexes, the LnIII center is bound to six oxygen atoms from the three bidentate chelating nitrato groups, two oxygen atoms from the two monodentate zwitterionic salanH ligands, and one oxygen atom from the coordinated H2O or MeOH group. The salanH ligands are mutually "cis" in 4·MeCN_Eu, 7·MeCN_Dy and 10·MeCN_Yb while they are "trans" in 17_Tb and 18_Dy. The lattice salanH molecule in 17_Tb and 18_Dy is also in its zwitterionic form with the acidic H atom being clearly located on the imine nitrogen atom. The coordination polyhedra defined by the nine oxygen donor atoms can be described as spherical tricapped trigonal prisms in 4·MeCN_Eu, 7·MeCN_Dy, and 10·MeCN_Yb and as spherical capped square antiprisms in 17_Tb and 18_Dy. Various intermolecular interactions build the crystal structures, which are completely different in the members of the two families. Solid-state IR data of the complexes are discussed in terms of their structural features. 1H NMR data for the diamagnetic Y(III) complexes provide strong evidence that the compounds decompose in DMSO by releasing the coordinated salanH ligands. The solid complexes emit green light upon excitation at 360 nm (room temperature) or 405 nm (room temperature). The emission is ligand-based. The solid Pr(III), Nd(III), Sm(III), Er(III), and Yb(III) complexes of both families exhibit LnIII-centered emission in the near-IR region of the electromagnetic spectrum, but there is probably no efficient salanH→LnIII energy transfer responsible for this emission. Detailed magnetic studies reveal that complexes 7·MeCN_Dy, 17_Tb and 18_Dy show field-induced slow magnetic relaxation while complex [Tb(NO3)3(salanH)2(H2O)]·MeCN (6·MeCN_Tb) does not display such properties. The values of the effective energy barrier for magnetization reversal are 13.1 cm−1 for 7·MeCN_Dy, 14.8 cm−1 for 17_Tb, and 31.0 cm−1 for 18_Dy. The enhanced/improved properties of 17_Tb and 18_Dy, compared to those of 6_Tb and 7_Dy, have been correlated with the different supramolecular structural features of the two families. The molecules [Ln(NO3)3(salanH)2(MeOH)] of complexes 17_Tb and 18_Dy are by far better isolated (allowing for better slow magnetic relaxation properties) than the molecules [Ln(NO3)3(salanH)2(H2O)] in 6·MeCN_Tb and 7·MeCN_Dy. The perspectives of the present initial studies in the Ln(III)/salanH chemistry are discussed

A general synthetic route for the preparation of high-spin molecules: Replacement of bridging hydroxo ligands in molecular clusters by end-on azido ligands

Abstract A general method of increasing the ground-state total spin value of a polynuclear 3d-metal complex is illustrated through selected examples from cobalt(II) and nickel(II) cluster chemistry that involves the dianion of the gem-diol form of di-2-pyridyl ketone and carboxylate ions as organic ligands. The approach is based on the replacement of hydroxo bridges, that most often propagate antiferromagnetic exchange interactions, by the end-on azido ligand, which is a ferromagnetic coupler

Types of public investment and the regions: a spatial economic analysis of government spending on Greek prefectures over the period 1976-2005

This paper utilizes a large database on public investment at the prefecture (NUTS-3) level in Greece for the period 1976-2005 to examine a series of questions that have to do with the allocation of public investment in the country. We focus on five aggregate expenditure categories (productive, social, transport, urban and local expenditures). We start by examining the spatial distribution of these types of public investments for the 30-year period of our sample, seeking to describe the main patterns of spatial concentration and identify significant temporal structural breaks. We then examine the extent to which expenditures in different types of public investment appear to be complementary across space and over time. We also examine the redistributive character of each of these types of expenditures and try to relate the regional allocation of investments to specific economic, locational and political characteristics of the Greek regions. Finally, we perform a large set of complementary exploratory spatial data analyses to examine the extent of geographical clustering of public investment and identify possible spillovers across the Greek regions. Although much of this analysis is predominantly descriptive, the results of our analysis are directly used to inform a number of geographical, political and economic research questions that future research on the topic should focus on

Regional economic development, human capital and transport infrastructure in Greece: the role of geography

This chapter discusses the impact of human capital endowment and transport infrastructure on regional economic development and growth in Greece, with a special focus on the role of geography. The relationship between regional development, human capital and transport infrastructure is far less direct and is, indeed, complex. Geography plays an important role in the functioning and performance of regional economies in general and the Greek economy in particular. Both first nature of geography factors (i.e. physical geography of regions) and second nature of geography factors (i.e. geography of distance between economic agents) moderate this relationship. This chapter also draws out a number of implications with regard to the role of regional economic policy