Public spending patterns: The regional distribution of public investment in Greece

The spatial dispersion of public investment constitutes one of the principal elements and also one of the key issues concerning the country's strategic regional development. It is evident that public investment expenditure represents in part the 'social wage' citizens receive, while at the same time it generates external economies for the productive sectors of the economy. Using a dataset that includes total outlays by all central, regional and local authorities, this chapter traces the distribution of public investment in Greek prefectures (NUTS III spatial level) over the period 1976-2005. It seeks to highlight the spending pattern governments of that period followed, to compare the changes (if any) between different periods, and to try to explain whether redistribution of national wealth or other factors such as political ones could be held as sufficient evidence for explaining the pattern and its temporal changes

Regional development in Greece - A look into the future

The book 'Regional Analysis and Policy' is a selection of perspectives on regional development issues in contemporary Greece. It is based on the contributions of Greek regional science research, as presented at the 2006 Congress of the European Regional Science Association in Volos, Greece. From a policy planning point of view, there have been changes in the way policies are designed and implemented, shifting from project planning to the development of programs. Through these activities, Greek regions have acquired significant knowledge, but most of all they have developed organizational structures and procedures towards more efficient regional development activities. The first chapter of Part I is written by Vassilis Monastiriotis. The author attempts to provide a space-time of inequality across the Greek regions and examine how the observed spatial patterns compare across socio-economic variables. The last chapter of Part I, written by Antonis Rovolis and Alexandra Tragaki, deals with migration flows in Greece

The new enlargement of the European Union: The financial framework and the new challenges ahead

The objective of this article is to shed light on the main financial elements related to the last enlargement of the European Union (EU), which is the largest in its history. In their methodological assessment and analysis the authors identify the main financial impacts, in terms of trade flows, and also expenditures and contributions to the EU budget, while they make estimations for financing needs of main EU policies in the light of the next financial framework. Negotiations of the next financial framework for the EU, are going to be difficult, especially with ten new Member States joining in 2004. The authors are of the opinion that the financial pressures and also the need to sufficiently finance EU policies constitute the main factors which will determine the functions of the EU financial system in future. Enlargement poses also a severe challenge for EU structural and cohesion policies, the implications of which should be considered in designing the actions of the new financial framework from 2007 onwards

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. 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. © 2017, Springer International Publishing AG

Regional Inequalities in Central and Eastern European Countries: The Role of Capital Regions and Metropolitan Areas

The aim of this chapter is to provide empirically supported evidence regarding regional development and inequalities in the European Union by focusing specifically on the Central and Eastern European countries. The process of European integration has impacted on the growth potential of all regions across Europe. However, there have been very diverse development trajectories in different groups of countries. After their accession to the EU, the Central and Eastern EU countries have followed a relatively common development path. However, the geography of development in these countries provides a more detailed analysis of this trend. The analysis covers the period 2000–2016, starting from the years just before the enlargement until the years after the economic crisis. Statistical analyses of trends in GDP and convergence and the role of metropolitan areas are presented with thematic cartography maps. Results are relevant to regional analysis and policy as well as to the challenges of the European Union for the next programming period 2021–2027. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG

L'Odyssée revisitée, le retour de Circé, Réflexions sur le colloque ASRDLF, Athènes 2017

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The contribution of Cohesion Funds and nationally funded public investment to regional growth: evidence from Greece

This paper sets out to estimate the contribution of European Union co-financed and nationally funded public investment expenditures to regional growth in Greece during the period 2000–14. The results are sensitive to the time period and the geographical level of the interventions. While nationally funded projects boosted the growth performance of the regions before the eruption of the economic crisis, there is no indication that the European Union co-financed projects have led to increased growth. The results question the additionality and coordination between European Union Cohesion Policy and the domestic regional policies for the promotion of regional growth in the less well-off regions of Europe. © 2018, © 2018 Regional Studies Association