What is it about?
The paper examines the performance of labour markets in Greece at the regional level in relation to part-time employment, finding four inter-related but distinct patterns of expansion. These patterns refer to the four different specialization models of Greek regions, namely metropolitan, manufacturing, agricultural and tourism-oriented. Regional economies based on tourism present -despite their one-sided focus- a remarkable resilience, managing to reduce employment losses and maintain a level of labour stability, although not without giving into a low-road flexibilization model.
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Why is it important?
The paper examines the expansion patterns of under-employment, a relatively under-researched aspect of contemporary economic restructuring that only a handful of scholars have discussed in relation to labour flexibilization, and a phenomenon that calls for urgent attention, holding various unexplored ramifications with other new phenomena, such as the so-called NEETs. Acknowledging the need to describe and understand the profound changes taking place in the socioeconomic structures of Southern Europe, the paper utilizes a combination of location quotients and a new embellishment of shift-share analysis, both of which are implemented for 2005–2008 and 2009–2012 across nine sectors.
Perspectives
The paper puts under-employment -which tends to become a widespread phenomenon- into perspective, exploring it in relation to productive models, more "traditional" part-time labour practices, and socio-economic developments across the recession-hit South EU. Besides going deeper than the national level (which is the most researched scale in relevant papers) and implementing a novel combination of methodological choices, the paper takes into account the distinct trajectories the Greek regions are following and the ageing state of the domestic labour force, which is under the threat of long-term unemployment and suffers an impediment and gradual 'outdating' of their skills.
Konstantinos Gourzis
University of the Aegean
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘Going under-employed’: Industrial and regional effects, specialization and part-time work across recession-hit Southern European Union regions, European Urban and Regional Studies, June 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0969776417713054.
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