Etudes par pays volume 2, PDF, 346 p., 1,4 Mo - Femise

11873_2002 Study D2: Poverty, Informal Sector, Health and Labour
Without disregarding the various weaknesses of the health care system, the
government seems to be content with the progress made so far. They
consider as a satisfactory development the creation of modern infrastructure
at the regional level, succeeding in covering geographically the needs of the
population and reducing regional inequalities, as a result of which the flow
of patients to the city hospitals has been declined. They believe that the
regional improvements in the health care facilities are ‘’a prerequisite for
the balanced social and economic development of the regions’’ (Action Plan
for Health and Welfare, p. 20). The government finds also adequate the
coverage of needs in the secondary and tertiary health care. All these
developments and improvements in the health care supply services leave,
however, much to be done for satisfying the patients and restore their
confidence in NHS. Their dissatisfaction is very vividly indicated by the
still high ‘unofficial’ private health expenses, representing, as we have
mentioned, 1.1 per cent of GDP.
Poverty: Although, in the 1970s, poverty was mostly a characteristic of
farmers, it has increasingly become, in the 1980s and 1990s, an urban
characteristic as well, due mainly to the rise of urban unemployment.
Between 1982 and 1994, poverty of scientists and executives more than
doubled, has increased for office clerks, and has declined a little for farmers
and blue collar workers. This notwithstanding, farmers continued to have
the highest incidence of poverty, 36.3 per cent (1994) as compared to
scientists and executives who carry the lowest incidence rate, 19.0 per cent
(Table A4).
Using the Greek Household Survey data, an econometric study found that,
between 1974 and 1994, income inequality and poverty (absolute and
relative) was reduced. The reduction took place particularly during the
period 1974-82, then, after an intermittent increase it was reduced again
(Mitrakos and Tsakloglou 2000). Taking, in addition, into account a number
of non-monetary welfare indexes (housing conditions, durable consumer
goods, etc), the standard of living of the poor has been continuously
improving. A primary contributing factor is considered by these authors the
rise of the educational level and the greater urbanization (ibid. p. 46).
According to other econometric findings (Sarris and Zografakis, 1997),
presented in table A4, education is indeed a reducing factor of poverty in
Greece. In 1994, the incidence of poverty for household heads without
primary education was 40.8 per cent; for those with primary education 28.4
per cent; with secondary education 13.6 per cent and with tertiary education
7.7 per cent. However, over time, especially since 1989, the situation of
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