OECD, (2016), “OECD Competition Assessment Reviews – GREECE 2017”, OECD Publishing, 7 November
After suffering one of the longest and most serious economic crises ever experienced by any European country, which resulted in a severe drop of real GDP and major losses in employment and incomes, the Greek economy is projected to improve in 2016-2017. Progress has been made in balancing the budget and implementing significant labour market and fiscal reforms. Despite these recent reforms, Greece’s product markets remain among the most heavily regulated in the OECD. These structural flaws adversely affect the ability of new firms to enter markets and hamper innovation, efficiency and productivity. Weak competition and barriers to entry result in less choice and higher prices for Greek consumers, less investment for the Greek economy and fewer jobs. Enhancing competition is critical to Greece’s prosperity. Against this background, the OECD was asked to conduct a third assessment of Greece’s competition laws and regulations, focusing on five sectors: e-commerce; construction; media; wholesale trade and a number of manufacturing sub-sectors such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals. These sectors together represent 11.2% of GDP and 16.7% of employment.
Relevant Posts
- Schwab, K., (2016), “The Global Competitiveness Report 2016–2017”, World Economic Forum, 28 September
- Seretis, Stergios A., Tsaliki, Persefoni V., (2016), “Absolute Advantage and International Trade – Evidence from Four Euro-zone Economies”, Review of Radical Political Economics, August