The True Wealth of Greece: An Inclusive Wealth assessment from 1990 to 2020 within the EU Sustainability Agenda

Halkos, George and Aslanidis, Panagiotis-Stavros (2025): The True Wealth of Greece: An Inclusive Wealth assessment from 1990 to 2020 within the EU Sustainability Agenda.

Abstract

The present report assesses the Greek inclusive wealth over 1990–2020 using the Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI), decomposing human, produced, and natural capital and benchmarking against the EU-28. The results show that the produced capital expanded markedly but plateaued after the financial crisis of 2008. Furthermore, the human capital per capita remains ~46% below the EU average, reflecting gaps in education, ICT and managerial skills, labour productivity, and the effects of brain drain and regional disparities. Essentially, the natural capital has been pressured by biodiversity loss, deforestation, marine pollution, and limited circular-economy uptake. Overall, these dynamics place Greece in the lower-middle tier of EU countries for inclusive wealth, therefore, the report outlines priorities to close the gap. The proposed policies target, one the one hand on human capital, by strengthening tertiary and vocational pathways, fostering innovation and university and industry linkages, expanding female employment, enhancing ICT skills, and rebuilding institutional trust. On the other hand on natural capital, through strategies on sustainable forest and land management, marine ecosystem protection, circular-economy incentives, and recognition of socio-cultural ecosystem services to support conservation and eco-tourism. To conclude, the improvement of human and natural capitals is pivotal for long-term wellbeing, intergenerational equity, and alignment with the EU sustainability agenda.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Inclusive wealth; beyond GDP; sustainable development; Greece.
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E0 - General > E01 - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth ; Environmental Accounts; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O44 - Environment and Growth; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q0 - General > Q01 - Sustainable Development; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q50 - General; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q56 - Environment and Development ; Environment and Trade ; Sustainability ; Environmental Accounts and Accounting ; Environmental Equity ; Population Growth

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