During the event “Greek Economy: Data and Outlook”, held on 31 March 2026 with the support of Qualco Intelligent Finance, a new economic climate indicator for Greece, the QIF Uncertainty Index, was presented.
The index represents an evolution of internationally established indicators, adapted to the Greek context and enhanced through advanced artificial intelligence technologies. It was developed by Dr. Evangelos Dioikitopoulos, Associate Professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business and Director of the Economic Policy Studies Laboratory (EMOP), and Stylianos Rousalis, as part of a research collaboration with Qualco Intelligent Finance.
The QIF Uncertainty Index measures economic uncertainty in Greece by leveraging artificial intelligence and natural language processing on a dataset of over 3 million articles from national and regional media.
Unlike traditional approaches based on keyword frequency, it uses large language models (LLMs) to understand the meaning and context of each article and assigns a continuous uncertainty score. This enables a more accurate distinction between rising or declining uncertainty, historical references and non-relevant content, providing a more reliable view of economic dynamics.
The index methodology is built on three complementary pillars: artificial intelligence, regional data and sentiment analysis.
Its reliability is supported by its strong correlation with key macroeconomic indicators, such as the spread between Greek and German 10-year government bonds (excluding the COVID period). In addition, incorporating sentiment-related dimensions further enhances its ability to capture market dynamics, thereby strengthening its alignment with the Athens Stock Exchange General Index.
The development of the QIF Uncertainty Index is part of the broader strategic collaboration between Qualco Intelligent Finance and the Athens University of Economics and Business, aimed at bridging the gap between academic research and the business world, turning scientific excellence into tangible value for society and the economy.
George Kazos, CEO of Qualco Intelligent Finance and Deputy CEO of Qualco Group, stated: “At Qualco Intelligent Finance, we believe that real progress happens when knowledge meets execution. We support the Athens University of Economics and Business because when research finds real-world application, it creates meaningful value for businesses, people and society. We are proud to actively contribute to this journey.”
Dr. Evangelos Dioikitopoulos, Associate Professor of Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business and Director of the innovation centre, commented: “Our goal is to provide reliable, scientifically grounded insights into the Greek economy in a way that is accessible to a wider audience. At the same time, we aim to strengthen the connection between academia, our talented students and the market. The QIF Uncertainty Index is a modern tool for capturing economic uncertainty in real time, offering valuable input for more informed decision-making by businesses, institutions and society.”
