Greek Prefectures Research Articles

Composition, temporal dynamics and regional characteristics of small-scale fisheries in Greece

Abstract The characteristics of Greek small-scale fisheries were examined using data from the Common Fisheries Register and from 551 fishermen interviews in 121 ports of 18 prefectures. The sector consisted of 19,052 small-scale fishing vessels and about 29,000–35,000 fishermen by the end of 2002. Both the number of fishermen and vessels show a decreasing trend in the last decade. The social importance of small-scale fisheries varies considerably between the Greek prefectures and is relatively higher in the insular ones. A total of 17 fishing gears and 62 target species was reported. The most important metiers were identified using multivariate methodology and were characterised by fishing gear, target species, locality and season. Most of the metiers are localized, but some are existent all over the country. Fishing activity follows a seasonal pattern characterising the different regions. The Greek prefectures were also grouped using cluster analysis of data on gear licenses and gear usage to explore the existence of geographic affinity on a broader scale. The results confirm the great heterogeneity and the complexity of the small-scale fishing sector.

Political Advertising in Greek Municipal and Prefecture Elections of 2002

Since the restoration of democracy in 1974, Greek politics have undergone a serious transformation, exemplified by the increase in political participation that strongly affected political advertising at the national and local level. The major claim of the paper is that political campaigns in major cities in Greece are “modern” while in the periphery of the country political campaigning is based more upon direct forms of interpersonal relations. Our claim is based upon an examination of the role of political advertising in the major metropolitan city of Thessaloniki (around 1.000.000 inhabitants), and the semi-peripheral city of Kastoria (around 17.000 inhabitants), both situated in Northern Greece. The primary objective of this study is to establish a strong factual foundation that can be used by policy makers, opinion leaders, and citizens in order to understand the role of political advertising in national and municipal elections in Greece.

Convergence and regional productivity differences: Evidence from Greek prefectures

We study the effect of technology gaps and capital deepening on the productivity growth of Greek prefectures over the period 1971-1995. The empirical results show that Greek prefectures tended to converge over time, contrary to conventional wisdom. It is found that capital deepening plays a significant role in explaining productivity differences at the regional level. The empirical results are discussed in detail.

Occurrence and densities of fungi from northern Greek coastal bathing waters and their relation with faecal pollution indicators

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and densities of yeasts and filamentous fungi in coastal water samples as well as their correlation with the indicator bacteria of faecal pollution. The prevalence of fungi was investigated in parallel with the standard pollution indicator microorganisms in 197 marine water samples from six northern Greek prefectures during the bathing season May–October 1999. Filamentous fungi were isolated from all the examined samples and yeasts from 29 (14.7%) of them; among the positive samples, their mean counts were 90.9 and 38.4 cfu/100 ml, respectively. A total of 23 genera of filamentous fungi and four genera of yeasts were identified. Prevailing genera of filamentous fungi were Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria spp., whereas Candida spp. was the most frequently isolated yeast. Counts of yeasts were significantly ( p<0.01) correlated with those of total and faecal coliforms, whereas no correlation was found between filamentous fungi and the indicator bacteria of faecal pollution. Significantly higher counts of total and faecal coliforms ( p<0.05), and enterococci ( p<0.001), were found during the months with the higher water temperatures and bather numbers. In the six prefectures, significant differences were observed in the counts of filamentous fungi and yeasts as well as in the counts of all the faecal pollution indicators. The results of this study indicate that coastal water can be a path for contamination of swimmers with yeasts and filamentous fungi and that the pollution indicator microorganisms cannot always predict their presence.

Duality theory and cost function analysis in a regional context: the impact of public infrastructure capital in the Greek regions

The resurgent interest in the role of infrastructure on development, spurred by the work on Aschauer in the late eighties, has produced a voluminous research activity, both at national and regional levels. Even though the majority of this research is based on production function analysis, more recently has emerged the alternative analytical framework of duality theory and cost function analysis. The latter is utilised here, in an effort to investigate public capital's impact on manufacturing at the regional level (Greek prefectures). Public capital categories have been grouped to two major categories of `productive' and `social' infrastructure. The latter seems to play little role in reducing private costs, but the former appears to be an important cost reduction influence. It can also be demonstrated that infrastructure has a substitutional relationship with labour and intermediate inputs, and a complementary one with private capital.

Appendicectomies in Albanians in Greece: outcomes in a highly mobile immigrant patient population.

BackgroundAlbanian immigrants in Greece comprise a highly mobile population with unknown health care profile. We aimed to assess whether these immigrants were more or less likely to undergo laparotomy for suspected appendicitis with negative findings (negative appendicectomy), by performing a controlled study with individual (1:4) matching. We used data from 6 hospitals in the Greek prefecture of Epirus that is bordering Albania.ResultsAmong a total of 2027 non-incidental appendicectomies for suspected appendicitis performed in 1994-1999, 30 patients with Albanian names were matched (for age, sex, time of operation and hospital) to 120 patients with Greek names. The odds for a negative appendicectomy were 3.4-fold higher (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-9.31, p = 0.02) in Albanian immigrants than in matched Greek-name subjects. The difference was most prominent in men (odds ratio 20.0, 95% CI, 1.41-285, p = 0.02) while it was not formally significant in women (odds ratio 1.56, 95% CI, 0.44-5.48). The odds for perforation were 1.25-fold higher in Albanian-name immigrants than in Greek-name patients (95% CI 0.44- 3.57).ConclusionsAlbanian immigrants in Greece are at high risk for negative appendicectomies. Socioeconomic, cultural and language parameters underlying health care inequalities in highly mobile immigrant populations need better study.

Public Capital and Economic Growth: Issues of Quantity, Finance, and Efficiency

Over the past decade, a large body of theoretical and empirical research has considered the importance of the quantity of public capital for economic growth. For the most part, the empirical results point to a positive role for public capital in determining steady state levels of output per capita and transitional growth rates. At the same time, other work has pointed out the importance of the means of financing government spending for economic growth, with the empirical results indicating a negative influence of higher government spending (proxying for a higher rate of taxation of private sector economic activities) on economic growth. Finally, there is a budding literature on the importance of the effectiveness, or efficiency, of public capital to the growth process; the limited results in the literature suggest that the effectiveness of use of the public capital stock has a meaningful positive influence on growth. This paper develops a common framework to investigate the importance of all three of these aspects of the provision of public capital for growth in output per worker. The paper includes a simple extension of the neoclassical growth model of Solow (1956) and Swan (1956), and a consideration of the relative importance of the three aspects of public capital: "how much you have," "how you pay for it," and how you use it." (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

On the evidence of a general whirling action in the Providence Tornado

The results of a systematic investigation and recording of tornado and waterspout occurrence in Greece for the 10-year period 2000–2009 are presented. This is the first database developed in Greece in an attempt to collect and record comprehensive information about tornadoes, waterspouts, funnel clouds, dust devils and other whirlwind phenomena. The primary research purpose of this database is to search, diagnose and record tornado and waterspout occurrences and identify their morphological and climatological features. Based on the 10-year data, a mean annual number of 1.1 tornadoes per unit area of 104 km2, is depicted for Greece. The seasonality appears differently for various parts, with winter most active tornado season for western Greece and summer for northern Greece. Spatial distribution showed that tornadoes are more frequent over western Greece and the Ionian coasts with a local maximum over northwest Peloponnese. Waterspouts occur in both the Aegean and the Ionian Sea mostly in summer and autumn, with a peak in September, while a considerable geographical maximum is located over north off the shore of Iraklion, Crete Island. A preliminary estimate of probability of tornado occurrence for each of the 51 Greek prefectures plus the Mount Athos area, showed highest values for Kerkyra Island and Elias prefectures, western Greece. Analysis based on intensities as assessed by damage data, indicated that the majority of tornadoes reached T4 of the T-scale or F2 of the F-scale. Short wave trough is found as the most relevant synoptic circulation pattern to tornadic activity. Thermodynamic and wind parameters showed a wide range of values, suggesting that threat levels should be adjusted for various areas since tornadoes and waterspouts can occur in different environments.