In his report on Greek economy V Bank of Greece (Bank of Greece)given that there are certain population groups that face higher poverty risk: unemployed at a rate of 45.4%, economically inactive, except for pensioners (27.3%), families with dependent children (23.6%) and children under 17 years old (23.7%).

In order to better reach very poor households, the central bank proposes to increase the number of recipients of the minimum guaranteed income, taking into account existing property criteria, effective access of recipients of additional social services and the successful functioning of the social security system. activation services, which were launched in April 2021 and are designed to facilitate the integration or reintegration of beneficiaries into the labor market.

In its 2022 annual report, the Governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Sturnaras continues with a strong warning about the worsening inequality, poverty, social exclusion and living conditions in our country over the past two years.

Which, of course, he characterizes as partly expected, given the impact of the pandemic on economic activity and household incomes, especially young workers, people with low levels of education and people with low incomes.

In particular, based on the data on household income in 2020, according to the EU survey, the poverty risk index increased to 19.6% from 17.7% recorded for income in 2019, reversing the downward trend seen in previous years.

In addition, the risk of relative poverty in Greece remains above the EU27 average of 16.8% and is the eighth highest in the EU27.

But also the percentage of the country’s population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to the revised definition, increased to 28.3% (or 2.971 million people) from 27.4% in 2019 and 29.0% in 2018.

And income inequality indicators show a significant deterioration in Greece in 2020, but remain close to the EU27 average. Also at the EU level, the average equivalent individual disposable income in our country decreased by 0.9% in 2021 compared to the previous year, with 20.4% of respondents saying that the pandemic was the main reason for the decline in their income.

In this context, a proposal by the Council of Ministers to increase the number of recipients of the minimum guaranteed income is included.

As characteristically mentioned in the report, his study OECD shows that a 25% increase in the minimum guaranteed income would mainly benefit the lowest income deciles and, combined with an increase in income excluded from income in the calculation of benefits, would almost halve the risk of poverty. percentage units.

In fact, the central bank goes even further, characterizing as a necessary reorientation towards a “social investment state” that creates conditions for equal opportunities by facilitating social mobility, protects citizens from life’s adversities, helps them combine professional careers and families, and more generally actively works to overcome poverty and income inequality through investment in human capital, i.e. in education and health care.

Under these conditions, social policy also works beneficially to achieve high and sustainable growth rates.