Regional Effects of the Great Recession on Greek Unemployment Rates: A Graphical Analysis

It is well documented that the Great Recession hit Greece very hard. External and internal factors have been put forward to explain why Greece was hit so hard relative to the other countries of the eurozone. Less attention has been paid to regional differences of the Great Recession impact. This study examines the effect of the Great Recession on the 13 NUTS2 regions of Greece, with an emphasis on the unemployment rate. Two issues are examined. First, the differences in the unemployment rates between the thirteen Greek regions are presented using available evidence from 1998 to 2022. Large differences in unemployment rates are observed. The second issue is the impact of the Great Recession on the convergence (or divergence) rates of the unemployment rates across regions.