Evolució de l’impacte de la Gran Recessió en la distribució de la renda de diferents països i regions d’Europa (període 2005-2016)

Abstract

(cat) L’objectiu principal és analitzar l’impacte de la Gran Recessió sobre la distribució de la renda de diferents regions i països d’Europa. Es fa una anàlisi descriptiva de l’evolució de les desigualtats d’ingressos en el període 2005-2016, s’estudia la correlació i, finalment, es fa un estudi economètric . Els resultats mostren un increment de les desigualtats de renda i un augment de la potència redistributiva del sector públic en la majoria dels països estudiats. A més, la crisi es revela com una variable rellevant per explicar l’augment de les desigualtats de renda. En conclusió, l’impacte de la crisi ha causat un augment en les desigualtats d’ingressos pels sis països i dotze períodes analitzats i, en segon lloc, aquesta situació ha provocat un augment del poder redistributiu del sector públic en la majoria de països i regions analitzats.

(eng) The global economic crisis, which began in 2007 in the United States, affected most of the economies of the developed countries, leading to the period known as the Great Recession. This situation had a particular influence in Europe, where the Eurozone Crisis started due to the combination of different events such as the sovereign debt, the financial crisis and de economic crisis. This scenario caused the bankruptcy of companies, job losses, and changes in the labour market. The austerity policies that governed throughout this period in Europe required budget constraints to prioritize the return of debt, meanwhile, social policies stayed in the background. However, the impact of the crisis has been of uneven magnitudes throughout the different European countries; being the Southern countries the most affected ones, which, in the end, required the rescue of its economic and/or financial systems. As a result, the great social pillar of Europe, the Welfare State, suffered changes that mainly affected the citizens. In the last decades, and even before the crisis, income inequalities have been increasing, due to the globalization, concentration of capital and the increasing demand of qualified workers. In this facet, the wealthy are getting wealthier and this results in a polarization in the distribution of income. The redistributive role of the state must correct market failures in terms of income inequalities and guarantee equity and equal opportunities among all citizens. The main objective of this work is to analyse the impact of the Great Recession on the distribution of income from different regions and countries of Europe from an economic and social point of view. Furthermore, it will be analysed if the income inequalities are greater today, after the economic recovery, than before the crisis, and if the Southern European countries are the most affected. A descriptive analysis of the evolution of different indicators of income inequalities in different EU countries is performed among the period 2005-2016. The correlation between different variables is studied and finally, an econometric study is carried out through multiple regressions. The results of the analysis show us that the market and disposable income inequalities and the capacity of reducing inequalities of states have increased in most of the countries studied. Moreover, the crisis is revealed as a relevant variable to explain the increase in income inequalities. In conclusion, the impact of the crisis has caused an increase in income inequalities for the six countries and the twelve periods analysed and, secondly, this situation has led to an increase in the redistributive power of the public sector in most countries and regions studied.