Summary:
Since the postwar era, the investment incentive policy followed in Greece has aimed to achieve two different objectives: the promotion of productive investment by enhanving specific industries and sectors of national economy and the achievement of balanced economic growth through the reduction of regional disparities. The purpose of this analysis is to assess the contribution of investment incentive policies implemented by our country regarding the regional dimension. In specific, it is examined whether the investment incentives, provided in both national and European level, have contributed to the achievement of balanced regional development. However evaluating the effectiveness of thes policy is a complex procedure and finding the right balance between theese two objectives is a difficult task. In particular, although the above mentioned objectives seem to be in a conflict, appropriate planning which takes into account both components of the development process remains the main challenge. Furthermore, by examing the investment framework om Greece it can be concluded that the effectiveness of the investment incentive policy has been expressed mainly in terms of economic growth of enterprises than of regional convergence, as developed regions and in particular the region of Attica still remain in the center of investment interest. Therefore, the current investment incentive policy turns out to be insufficient to address the issue of the mitigation of regional disparities. As a result, reconsidering the objectives and priorities along with modernizing the existing institutional framework emerge as a prerequisite to ensure the effectiveness of this policy.
