Policy Continuity and Change in Greek Social Policy in the Aftermath of the Sovereign Debt Crisis

The extensive and radical reforms introduced in Greece's pension and health systems following the recent economic crisis provide a compelling case for the study of continuity and change in social policy. The article argues that a simple focus on retrenchment - as observed in pension and health in Greece in the aftermath of the crisis - provides only a partial understanding of the transformations taking place in the two sectors under study and their implications for the future structure of the two systems. While retrenchment has been the dominant feature associated with the fiscal consolidation effort undertaken in the context of the bailout agreements, other transformative processes have also taken place. In the case of pensions, a shift towards a more unified structure is observed, accompanied by a hesitant shift to a multi-pillar system characterized by a reduction in public provision which is nonetheless not compensated by a strengthening of the second pillar. In the case of health, recent reforms attest to the gradual withering away of the public system through its shift to residualism. These changes have been made possible through the changes observed in the policy-making process characterized by an unprecedented increase of the EU intrusiveness and the parallel decrease of the role and influence of social partners.