Studie von Caritas Europa zu den Auswirkungen der Finanzkrise auf europäische Gesellschaften, März 2014 (engl. Originalfassung)
The OECD points out that Greece had a high share of its population living in poverty before cuts in public spending were introduced and that austerity measures have pushed more people into poverty (OECD, 2013c).
In 2008 Greece had a relatively high proportion of its population living at risk of poverty or social inclusion (the combined measure used in the Europe 2020 Strategy) – 28.1%. By 2011, there had been a significant increase to 31% (well above the EU27 average of 24.2%), and the latest data suggests that there has been another significant increase in 2012 to 34.6% (an increase of almost 4 percentage points) (Eurostat, 2013b). In terms of numbers, those recorded as living in poverty or social inclusion in 2012 numbered 3.7 million, a figure that increased by 392,000 people in one year (Eurostat, 2013b).
The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion indicator is a combined one that includes 3 separate measures of poverty – people at risk of poverty (PAROP), people severely materially deprived (SMD) and people in households with very low work intensity (VLWI).
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All three of the separate indicators increased between 2011 and 2012. The at-risk-of-poverty rate has increased significantly from 21.4% to 23.1%, the largest increase that has occurred in the EU28 countries whose data is currently available from Eurostat (Eurostat, 2013o). So in 2012 almost a quarter of the population was at risk of poverty, meaning that their incomes were below 60% of the equivalised median income. In 2012, Greece had the highest at-risk-of-poverty rate in the EU2820 followed by Romania and Spain.
In numerical terms, there were 2.5 million people living in poverty in 2012, an increase of nearly 190,000 people in one year. Since 2009, the increase has been 387,000 people.
It is recognised that young adults are bearing a significant burden across Europe. In Greece the risk-of-poverty rate of those aged 18-24 increased by approximately 50% between 2008 (when it was 23%) and 2012 (when it rose to 33.1%) (Eurostat, 2013q).
The risk-of-poverty rate of unemployed people strongly increased from 38.1% in 2009 to 44% in 2011 (Ministry of Finance, 2013).
The large increase in the at-risk-of-poverty rate has happened notwithstanding a very significant drop in the at-risk-of- poverty threshold – in other words, the level at which people are deemed to be at risk of poverty fell in line with a drop in overall incomes. The Greek threshold fell from €6,591 in 2011 to €5,708 in 2012, a drop of €883, or over 13%, and by far the largest drop in the EU28 (of the countries for which figures are available) (Eurostat, 2013p).
Using a poverty indicator ‘anchored’ to living standards in 2005, the OECD has shown that increases up to 2010 in income poverty in Greece were even higher than suggested by ‘relative’ income poverty measures (OECD, 2013a).
Die vollständige Studie finden Sie hier (pdf).