Covid-19 has brought back the necessity of the welfare state: The Greek case
Abstract
In Europe, despite systemic, functional and structural differences, the welfare state has been a key component of the state after World War II. In recent decades, the former has been accused for inflating government spending and turning people into passive recipients of benefits and services. For this reason, and for several more, such as globalization, the transforming nature of employment and the changing family patterns, the welfare state has undergone the necessary reforms in order to combine the effectiveness and efficiency of its services and benefits. The outbreak of 2009 economic crisis has created tremendous problems to the welfare state, especially in the hardest hit countries, such as Greece. Although these structural problems and inefficiencies existed, the Greek state in general and the National Health System (NHS) in particular have handled the coronavirus successfully, making the country an example for the others but also stressing the necessity to consolidate the welfare state and specifically the NHS. This paper aims to analyze the way the Greek state handled the coronavirus crisis while underlie the importance of the welfare state especially in times of crisis and the challenges that coronavirus has created.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Tzagkarakis, S.-I., Pappas, I., & Kritas, D. (2020). Covid-19 has brought back the necessity of the welfare state: The Greek case. HAPSc Policy Briefs Series, 1(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.12681/hapscpbs.24950
- Section
- Articles
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Economou, C. (2015). Barriers and facilitating factors in access to health services in Greece. World Health Organization. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/en/countries/greece/publications/barriers-andfacilitating-factors-in-access-to-health-services-in-greece-2015 (Accessed: May 30, 2020).
Efthymiou, I. P., Vozikis, A. And Sidiropoulos, S. (2019). Innovation in healthcare with a focus on cancer care. International Journal of Health and Innovation, 7 (2): 9-14.
Eurostat (2018). Healthcare personnel statistics – physicians. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Healthcare_personnel_statistics_-_physicians (Accessed: May 29, 2020).
Georgiou, H. (2020). COVID-19 outbreak in Greece has passed its rising inflection point and stepping into its peak. Technical report. medRxiv preprint, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.15.20066712.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2020). World Economic Outlook, April 2020: The Great Lockdown. International Monetary Fund, Available at: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/04/14/weo-april-2020 (Accessed: June 1, 2020).
Karger, H. (2014). The Bitter Pill: Austerity, Debt, and the Attack on Europe’s Welfare States. The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 41 (2), 33-53.
Kotroyannos, D., Lavdas, K. A., Tzagkarakis, S., Kamekis, A. & Chourdakis, M. (2013). Solidarity and Welfare State in Greece. GSTF International Journal of Law and Social Sciences (JLSS), 2 (2): 7-11.
Lionis, C., Symvoulakis, E. K., Markaki, A., Petelos, E., Papadakis, S., Sifaki-Pistolla, D., Papadakakis, M., Souliotis, K., Tziraki, C. (2019). Integrated people-centred primary health care in Greece: unravelling Ariadne’s thread. Primary Health Care Research & Development 20 (e113): 1–7.
Mpouzika, M. D., Mpouzika, E., Papathanassoglou, E. (2018). The effect of the Greek financial crisis on the operation of public intensive care units. Connect. The World Critical Care Nursing, 12(2): 48–51.
Papadopoulos, T. and Roumpakis, A. (2012). The Greek welfare state in the age of austerity: anti-social policy and the politico-economic crisis. In: Kilkey, M., Ramia, G. and Farnsworth, K. (eds.), Social Policy Review, 24, 203-227.
Sbarouni, V., Petelos, E., Kamekis, A., Tzagkarakis, S. I., Symvoulakis, E. K., Lionis, C. (2020). Discussing issues of health promotion and research in the context of primary care during the ongoing austerity period: an exploratory analysis from two regions in Greece. Medicine and Pharmacy Reports, 93(1): 69–74.
Stiglitz, J. (2010). Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. New York: WW Norton & Co.
Tountas, Y., Kyriopoulos, J., Lionis, C., Miltiadis, N., Souliotis, K., Yfantopoulos, J., Filalithis, T. (2020). The new NHS: Reform of the National Health System. Athens: Dianeosis [in Greek].
