Unemployment in Greece and Cyprus in the 21st Century: An Analysis from a European Perspective

Abstract

One of the main concerns facing societies today is unemployment. However, its evolution in all economies is not the same. It is necessary to know the determining factors of the evolution of the unemployment rate because it is one of the variables that can delay and prevent real convergence with the rest of the European Union Member States. The aim of this paper is to present an explanatory model, since the beginning of the 21st century, for unemployment in two Mediterranean economies with important historical, cultural, and economic ties. The identification of the explanatory variables of unemployment allows us to determine whether the response of the Greek and Cypriot authorities to reduce unemployment has been adequate.

Keywords

• Unemployment rate
• macroeconomic variables
• labour market policies
• Great Recession
• COVID-19