EUROMOD-based research included in the Bank of Greece Governor's Annual Report for 2020

The Governor's Annual Report is a flagship publication which provides a comprehensive analysis of developments and prospects of the Greek economy. In this year’s report, published in April 2021, EUROMOD was used to provide estimates of the distributional impact of the tax-benefit policies that the Greek authorities implemented in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 crisis. These policies included a monetary compensation granted to self-employed and employees of firms affected by the pandemic, a lump-sum compensation to long-term unemployed, an extension in the provision of the unemployment insurance benefit and additional top-ups provided to GMI recipients.

The simulation of monetary compensation schemes was made operational through EUROMOD’s Labour Market Adjustment Add-on, a newly developed functionality which allows for the simulation of policies that are triggered by changes in the labour market status of individuals. The results of the analysis suggest that the measures taken as a response to the health crisis were able to cushion the effects of the latter on households’ disposable income, especially in the lower part of the income distribution, and significantly contain the poverty-inducing effects of the pandemic.

The Greek EUROMOD National team was very pleased to see how their work on the model is being used to improve the evidence base in the assessment of the distributional effects of policies in the country, ultimately thus contributing to better policymaking.