Title: Demographic changes and public finance: evidence from Greece

Authors: Kostas Karamanis; Alina Hyz

Addresses: Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Ioannina, Greece; Hellenic Open University, Parodos Aristotelous 18, 26335 Patras, Greece; University Campus, Psathaki Preveza, 48100 Preveza, Greece ' Department of Accounting and Finance, University of West Attica, Greece; Hellenic Open University, Athens, Greece

Abstract: The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of demographic changes on public finance in Greece during the period 2001-2018. This paper reports on an econometric model of three demographic variables (age dependency ratio, ageing ratio and fertility ratio) and five fiscal variables (debt to GDP ratio, total expenditure to GDP ratio, total revenue to GDP ratio, social benefits to GDP ratio, and the social contributions to GDP ratio). The main empirical evidence supported by other research studies suggests that there is a relationship between demographic changes and public finance. Considering the current situation of the demographic changes as well as the predictions, one can conclude that actions and reforms are needed to address the problems that arise from the ageing of the population in Greece.

Keywords: public finance; demographic changes; Greece.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDSRM.2020.112272

International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management, 2020 Vol.9 No.3, pp.129 - 147

Received: 22 Feb 2020
Accepted: 29 Mar 2020
Published online: 06 Jan 2021 *

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