OECD Regional Outlook 2016 ProdUCTIVE REGIONS For INCLUSIVE SocIETIES Contents Reader’s Guide Executive Summary TOWARDS A RENEWED STRATEGY FOR Part I. The place-based dimension of productivity and inclusion REGIONAL POLICY IN GREECE Chapter 1. Regional productivity gaps and their consequences OECD Territorial Review of Greece 2020 Chapter 2. Regional development: Policies to promote catching up Part II. Special Focus: Rural areas – Places of opportunity Chapter 3. Understanding rural economies Policy Note: Preliminary findings Chapter 4. Rural Policy 3.0 Part III. Regions and cities implementing global agendas: A policy forum Chapter 5. Investing in “voice” to implement global agendas by Rolf Alter, Director, Public Governance OECD Regional Outlook 2016 and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD Chapter 6. A New Urban Agenda for the 21st century: The role of urbanisation in sustainable development by Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat and Secretary-General of Habitat III Chapter 7. Financing subnational and local governments: The missing link in development finance by Josep Roig, Secretary-General, United Cities and Local Governments Chapter 8. Cities and regions – Connected by water in mutual dependency by Peter C.G. Glas, Chairman, OECD Water Governance Initiative and Chairman, Water Board De Dommel (Netherlands) Chapter 9. United States rural policy: Increasing opportunities and improving the quality of life of rural communities by Thomas J. Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Chair, White House Rural Council P rod Chapter 10. Global dimensions of malnutrition: Territorial perspectives on food security and nutrition U policies by Vito Cistulli, Stina Heikkilä and Rob Vos, Food and Agriculture Organization of the C TIV United Nations (FAO) E R E Chapter 11. Response to the Paris Climate Accord: Scaling up green projects GI from a bottom-up perspective by Christophe Nuttall, Executive Director, R20 Regions O NS F NS of Climate Action or I Part IV. Country notes (online only) N C LUSIV E Soc I E Consult this publication on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264260245-en. TI E This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. S Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information. ISBN 978-92-64-26137-2 04 2016 09 1 P 2 │ Table of contents About the OECD Territorial Reviews: Greece 2020 ........................................................................... 3 Executive summary ............................................................................................................................... 4 Key findings ..........................................................................................................................................4 Towards a renewed strategy for regional policy in Greece ............................................................... 7 Economic recovery is gaining momentum, but gains are uneven ........................................................ 7 EU structural funds have helped to soften the impacts of the economic crisis and have encouraged recovery ............................................................................................................................ 7 While no region has caught up to pre-crisis productivity levels, some regions are coming close ....... 8 Greece’s unique geography creates challenges for accessibility and service provision .................... 11 Urban dwellers have sought out opportunities abroad, heightening the pattern of population ageing ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Job creation is a top concern across all regions ................................................................................. 16 Key growth opportunities for the future ............................................................................................ 22 From reforms to implementation: Making place-based policies work .............................................. 23 Regional policy for Greece post 2020 ............................................................................................... 29 References ............................................................................................................................................ 32 Tables Table 1. Regional specialisation in industries, Greece, 2016 ................................................................ 21 Figures Figure 1. Productivity level and growth of frontier and lagging regions, Greece ................................... 9 Figure 2. Contribution to Greek national labour productivity growth, 2007-2016 ............................... 10 Figure 3. Employment and productivity growth in Attica ..................................................................... 11 Figure 4. Distribution of population by OECD regional typology (TL3), Greece 2017 ....................... 12 Figure 5. Population in rural and remote rural areas, OECD, 2017 ...................................................... 12 Figure 6. Share of population by accessibility to a large town or city, OECD 2016............................. 14 Figure 7. Greek working-age population change by regional typology, 2001-2017 ............................. 15 Figure 8. Well-being in Greek regions .................................................................................................. 17 Figure 9. Employment change by region, 2007-2016, Greece ...............................................................18 Figure 10. Regional employment growth and contribution to national employment growth, 2011- 2016, Greece .................................................................................................................................. 18 Figure 11. Greek regions have among the highest unemployment rates in OECD ............................... 20 Figure 12. Subnational expenditure, investment, tax revenue and debt in OECD unitary countries, 2016 ............................................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 13. National and subnational public investment in Greece 2000-2017 ...................................... 26 3 │ About the OECD Territorial Reviews: Greece 2020 The Ministry of Economy and Development of Greece and the Structural Reform Support Service of the European Commission have commissioned the OECD to develop a Territorial Review of Greece on “Regional policy for Greece post 2020”. The review is undertaken by the OECD’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) under the auspices of the OECD Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC). The Territorial Review of Greece will examine how Greece can boost productivity, promote sustainable and inclusive growth and deliver well-being across the country. It focusses on four key aspects: i) diagnosing socio-economic trends and identifying growth potential and underexploited resources; ii) assessing policies and strategies for development and inclusive growth; iii) reviewing multi-level governance for regional and cohesion policy; and iv) capacity for policy programming and implementation. In March 2019, the OECD Secretariat has drafted a policy note to outline the preliminary findings and some of the central challenges for regional policy in Greece post 2020. This policy note takes stock of the first five months of implementation of the Territorial Review of Greece including two study missions by OECD teams. The Executive Summary hereafter provides a summary of the note. The OECD final report will be delivered early 2020. OECD Territorial Reviews have been created in 2001 to support regional development at the multi-country, country, regional and metropolitan scales. OECD Territorial Review examine a range of policies that have the potential to propel economic growth in regions and improve the quality of life for their residents. Policies for economic growth, social capital and environmental sustainability are more effective when they recognise the different economic and social realities where people live and work. *Cover Illustration by Gabriella Agner. 4 │ Executive summary This policy note “Towards a renewed strategy for regional policy in Greece” takes stock of the first five months of implementation of the Territorial Review of Greece and two study missions by OECD teams, and outlines some preliminary findings. The OECD final report will be delivered early 2020. Key findings The economic recovery is gaining momentum, but gains are still uneven Full recovery is in reach, but it will take time to materialise. Employment at the end of 2017 remained 14% below its 2008 peak. Greece’s relative poverty rate is the fourth highest in the OECD (at 15.3% in 2018). New jobs are being created, but many are part- time or temporary and pay the minimum wage. Consequently, the share of working poor is rising. Although reforms have been extensive and recovery is gaining momentum, economic and social disparities between regions persist. It is in this context that place-based policies can deliver targeted investments fit to local conditions and help a broad-based recovery of the economy. EU Structural and Investments Funds (ESIF) have helped to soften the impacts of the economic crisis and liquidity restrictions and have encouraged recovery OECD analysis indicates that without the EU structural and investment funds (ESIF) the crisis would have been deeper and the