The elusive promise of universal social protection: the case of the Greek general minimum income (GMI)

Abstract

PurposeThe need to alleviate poverty and achieve the United Nations (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Universal Social Protection (USP) mechanisms is a high priority for governments and international organisations (IOs). This paper focuses on the recent introduction of a general minimum income (GMI) in Greece, in the context of the international diffusion of governing expertise. It examines whether the “universal” scheme being implemented constitutes a paradigm shift likely to offer solutions to the country's previous fragmented and unjust welfare system, and to problems the society has faced since the 2010s depression.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses critical grounded theory, with data gathering through iterative field observations and semi-structured interviews.FindingsResults highlight the elusiveness of USP normative promises: rather than enhancing people's effective freedoms to act as self-determining agents, USP pushes the poor to adapt to current degraded socio-economic conditions. Participation in the shadow economy is a structural feature of USP; it is implicitly tolerated insofar as it is regarded, in the words of the World Bank (WB), an “engine for growth”. This constitutes an institutional and governance challenge for the implementation and expansion of social welfare programmes and could compromise the 2030 SDGs Agenda.Originality/valueWhile research to date has examined the “modernisation” of the Greek welfare system in a national or comparative perspective, it adds to the literature by framing the study in the field of global social policy, shedding light on the discrepancies between internationally designed mechanisms and the normative aims of USP.

Guest editorial: Old and New Challenges for Welfare Regimes – A Global Perspective

“…Burgi and Kyramargiou (2021) critically examine the recent introduction of the Greek General Minimum Income (GMI) scheme. The main purpose of the authors was to test if the new “universal” scheme constituted a paradigm shift in the fragmented Southern European welfare system.…”

“…cash transfers, care, youth, taxation, education, health and others). The studies examine responses and challenges of social policy systems in Mozambique, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa (Gasior et al , 2021), Brazil and Mexico (Tomazini, 2021), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria (Broka and Toots, 2021), Ecuador (Ubasart-González and Minteguiaga, 2021), India (Nakray, 2021), Japan (Milly, 2021), Austria (Landini, 2021), Mexico (Martínez-Martínez et al , 2021), Greece (Burgi and Kyramargiou, 2021) and 15 post-Soviet states [1] (Panaro, 2021). Most papers refer to emerging welfare states, and some discuss social policies in more consolidated social policy systems, such as the cases of Austria, Greece and Japan, which are currently facing challenges that involve citizens from emerging welfare states.…”

“…This is because the welfare system should adapt the antipoverty social policies to look beyond cash transfers and implement adequate social welfare programs based on the particular deprivation of geographical areas. Burgi and Kyramargiou (2021) critically examine the recent introduction of the Greek General Minimum Income (GMI) scheme. The main purpose of the authors was to test if the new "universal" scheme constituted a paradigm shift in the fragmented Southern European welfare system.…”