Park, Jeanne, (2015), “Issue Guide: Greece’s Debt Crisis”, Analysis Brief, Council on Foreign Relations, 18 June Five years after the onset of its sovereign debt crisis, Greece once again finds itself on the precipice of default and a departure from the nineteen-member eurozone. This reading list provides expert background and analysis of the crisis. Relevant Posts De Grauwe, Paul, (2015), “Greece is solvent but illiquid: What should the ECB do?”, …Read More
Minimum Wage Effects on Employment and Changes in the Wage Distribution in Greece
Karakitsios, Alexandros, “Minimum Wage Effects on Employment and Changes in the Wage Distribution in Greece”, LSE-European Institute, May 2015 This paper is a preliminary analysis of the employment effects of the minimum wage cut adopted in 2012 and the corresponding age-based differentiation for workers above and below 25 years old. The analysis is constrained on full-time private sector workers of two substitute age groups, i.e. 20-24 and 25-29 years old. It is …Read More
The Self in Crisis: The Experience of Personal and Social Suffering in Contemporary Greece
Tsekeris, Charalambos, Kaberis, Nikos, Pinguli, Maria, (2015), “The Self in Crisis: The Experience of Personal and Social Suffering in Contemporary Greece”, GreeSE Paper No.92, Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe, June 2015 The current Greek crisis is not only financial or economic, but also political, and touches on deeply entrenched social and cultural values and processes. Obviously, the Greek society is in a fluid and prolonged state of suffering, precariousness, and transition. But the same applies …Read More
Why sovereigns repay debts to external creditors and why it matters
Bulow, J. & Rogoff, K., (2015), “Why sovereigns repay debts to external creditors and why it matters”, Voxeu, 10 June. With Greece on the edge and Argentina confronting adverse legal decisions, thinking about sovereign default is a front-burner issue. This column discusses how recent experience casts light on relative merits of the two main conceptual approaches to modelling sovereign lending and default – the reputation approach and the punishment approach. …Read More
Library » Greece » Economy » Opinion Articles
The modern Greek tragedy
Bulow, J. & Rogoff, K., (2015), “The modern Greek tragedy”, Voxeu, 10 Ιουνίου. The conventional wisdom in Greece is that the nation has suffered years of excessive, Troika-imposed austerity in a short-sighted effort to extract maximum repayment. This column argues that, in fact, Greece was a net receiver of Troika funds from 2010 to mid-2014, with a modest reverse flow since Greece stalled on its reforms. Both sides have negotiated …Read More
Library » Greece » Economy » Opinion Articles
Drawing The Right Lessons From The Greek Pension Crisis
Watt, A., (2015), “Drawing The Right Lessons From The Greek Pension Crisis”, Social Europe, 8 June. The article refers to groups of workers that, at least until the crisis, enjoyed very high replacement rates on entering retirement, and could do so at comparatively early age. As is typical of benefit systems in southern European countries more generally, the Greek pension system has always been highly discriminatory between different categories of workers. This …Read More
Library » Greece » Society » Opinion Articles
External conditionality and the debt crisis: the ‘Troika’ and public administration reform in Greece
Featherstone, K., (2015), “External conditionality and the debt crisis: the ‘Troika’ and public administration reform in Greece”, Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 22, Issue 3, pp.295-314. Levering domestic reform via external conditionality has become crucial to the rescues of European Union member states in the context of the eurozone crisis. This article examines a critical case – Greece – and a problematic sector – reform of the central state …Read More
Pragmatism, the Greek crisis, and structural reforms: What theory says
Müller Andr., Storesletten K., Zilibotti F., (2015), “Pragmatism, the Greek crisis, and structural reforms: What theory says”, Voxeu, 27 May. In the policy circles, there are confronting positions regarding Greece’s assistance programme and the structural reforms it should implement. This column argues that the best response is pragmatism and sequential compromise. Efficiency requires an assistance programme providing the country with debt relief with an intervention of an institution such as …Read More
Library » Greece » Economy » Opinion Articles
In It Together: Why Less Inequality Benefits All
In It Together: Why Less Inequality Benefits All, OECD, 21 May The gap between rich and poor keeps widening. Growth, if any, has disproportionally benefited higher income groups while lower income households have been left behind. This long-run increase in income inequality not only raises social and political concerns, but also economic ones. It tends to drag down GDP growth, due to the rising distance of the lower 40% from the rest …Read More
Greece’s Turn to Resist a Referendum
Mohamed A. El-Erian, (2015), “Greece’s Turn to Resist a Referendum”, BloombergView, 18 May. In 2011, overwhelming opposition from Greece’s European partners forced Prime Minister George Papandreou to withdraw a proposal for a referendum seeking a “clear mandate” from voters to carry out European Union-backed policies. Last week, the opposite scenario unfolded: Germany suggested that the Greek government hold a plebiscite on whether to accept creditors’ demands for economic reforms or ultimately …Read More