Description
The proposed research project focuses on the problem of rising unemployment and underemployment (particularly for the young and women) in Greece during the ongoing crisis and recession. The underutilization and waste of human resources, reflected on shrinking work opportunities and hindered access to employment, has become a major cause of economic inequality and social exclusion. Unemployment and precarious employment are increasing out of proportion; while already in 2010 Greece had the highest unemployment rate among graduates of 25-29 years old compared to all other OECD countries. Top-down policies and fragmented regulatory reforms have ineffectively addressed joblessness, as they neglect local specificities. No concern has been given to the skills and qualifications of the labour surplus and its potential contribution to the development of the local community. To this purpose, the project will provide territory-specific accounts of un/underemployment patterns and tools to reverse the situation. Within the proposed conceptual and analytical framework, un/underemployment will be explored in relation to regional/local economic structures and specialisation. The research will focus on certain localities: Sparta, Tripoli, Rhodes and Kastoria are proposed as target municipalities, representing a range of differentiated growth patterns and production specialisation within the national context - therefore, allowing for the comparative analysis of diverse employment and unemployment patterns.
Summary of project results
The project focused on the problem of rising unemployment and underemployment (particularly for the young and women) in Greece during the ongoing crisis and recession. The underutilization and waste of human resources, reflected on shrinking work opportunities and hindered access to employment, had become a major cause of economic inequality and social exclusion. The project provided territory-specific accounts of un/underemployment patterns and tools to reverse the situation. Within the proposed conceptual and analytical framework, un/underemployment was explored in relation to regional/local economic structures and specialisation. The research focused on certain localities: Sparta, Tripoli, Rhodes and Kastoria are proposed as target municipalities, representing a range of differentiated growth patterns and production specialisation within the national context - therefore, allowing for the comparative analysis of diverse employment and unemployment patterns. The innovative element of this research project was the combination of conventional quantitative and qualitative research methodologies with Participatory Action Research (PAR). The project achievements were: 1. the identification of the role of different industrial compositions and specialisation in unemployment and underemployment patterns across the regions of Greece. 2. the identification of the conjunction of economic structures and un/underemployment patterns and its consequences at the local level, which is a two-way process, as both ‘components’ interact with each other. 3. the empowerment of the unemployed and other interested social actors / stakeholders to transform, through reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, in order to address effectively the problem of underutilization of the un-/under-employed at their locality.
Summary of bilateral results
The cooperation established due to the fact that Norway’s Work Research Institute is renowned for its expertise in participatory action research and it is especially concerned with forms of organisation and leadership that promote the collective ability to learn, cooperate and adapt, and thereby create a better working environment. WRI contributed in particular in WP1 and WP3 (Participatory Action Research) The project contributed to strengthening bilateral relations, since it provided a sufficient opportunity for the establishment of a network in order to promote cooperation, integration and staff exchanges among the participating institutions. The programmed activities, such as seminars, contributed to the establishment of new collaborations which improved the level of future international cooperation. Student and faculty exchanges between Greek partners and the Norwegian Institution was a fundamental goal to be achieved during the project and soon after it will be finished.Publishing plans in high impact journals were also established as an extension of the publishing and the dissemination activities conducted during the project It is certain that the cooperation with the donor partners will continue after the project's completion, as long as there are more actions to address un-underemployent.