Papazoglou, Alexis, (2017), “What conspiracy theories can tell us about politics in Greece”, EUROPP, 7 March A couple of weeks ago, I attended a talk on conspiracy theories. Hugo Drochon, a post-doc for the Conspiracy and Democracy project at the University of Cambridge, presented the results of a YouGov poll on questions dealing with the extent to which people held conspiracy theory-like beliefs. The findings showed that conspiracy theories are …Read More
Sovereign Rating Model: Greek Sovereign Rating Worse Than We Deserve
Lekkos, Ilias, Rotsika, Dimitria, Giannakidis, Haris, (2017), “Sovereign Rating Model: Greek Sovereign Rating Worse Than We Deserve”, Piraeus Bank Economic Research and Investment Strategy, February The profound effect of sovereign credit ratings on economic activity is all too well known in the case of Greece, where the downgrade of the Hellenic Republic to below investment grade led to the “financial isolation” of the Greek state from the global financial system. …Read More
Should we worry about Greek banks?
Merler, Silvia, (2017), “Should we worry about Greek banks?”, Bruegel, 23 February Earlier this month, the IMF and the European institutions clashed over conditions for sustainability of the Greek debt. One of the main disagreements seems to be the evaluation of the Greek banks’ health. Whose assessment should be trusted and are there reasons to worry? Relevant Posts Onado, Marco, (2017), “In search of a European solution for banks’ non-performing loans”, VoxEu, …Read More
Contrasting the views of the EU Institutions and the IMF staff on the outlook of Greek economy and the present bailout programme
Monokroussos, Platon, (2017), “Contrasting the views of the EU Institutions and the IMF staff on the outlook of Greek economy and the present bailout programme”, Eurobank, February The study presented herein has been motivated by the ongoing negotiations between the Greek government and the Institutions (EC/ECB/IMF/ESM) in the context of the 2nd review of Greece’s present bailout programme. It attempts to analyze important deviations and similarities in the views presented …Read More
When the IMF evaluates the IMF
Wyplosz, Charles, (2017), “When the IMF evaluates the IMF”, VoxEu, 17 February The IMF has just released its self-evaluation of its Greek lending, in which it admits to many mistakes. This column and argues that the report misses one important error – reliance on the Debt Sustainability Analysis – but notes that the IMF’s candour should be a model for the other participants in the lending, namely, the European Commission and …Read More
Greek Glass Half-Full: The CJEU And Europe’s ‘Highly Competitive Social Market’ Economy
Countouris, Nicola, Koukiadaki, Aristea, (2017), “Greek Glass Half-Full: The CJEU And Europe’s ‘Highly Competitive Social Market’ Economy”, Social Europe, 13 February The case, which was referred to the CJEU by the Greek Council of State (Supreme Administrative Court), concerned the question of whether the powers of the Minister for Labour to refuse planned collective redundancies under certain circumstances are compatible with EU Law. The reluctance of Greece to abolish this restriction …Read More
Overview of the Greek Financial System
Bank of Greece, (2017), “Overview of the Greek Financial System”, January During 2016, the financial system’s principal risks seem to have stabilised, while the medium-term prospects will mainly depend on creating an environment favouring economic growth. However, there are still significant challenges, both in the domestic front, due to potential delays in the completion of the second review of the Third Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece, and structural factors (e.g. high …Read More
The IMF Should Get Out of Greece
Mody, Ashoka, (2017), “The IMF Should Get Out of Greece”, Bloomberg, 3 February The IMF should never have gotten into Greece in the first place. As late as March 2010, with concerns about the Greek government’s ability to pay its debts roiling markets, Europe’s leaders wanted the IMF to stay away. Europeans feared that the fund’s financial assistance to one of their own would signal broader weakness in the currency union. …Read More
State financing needs and sources in 2017 and beyond; evaluation of the agreed short-term debt relief measures & updated DSA
Monokroussos, Platon, (2017), “State financing needs and sources in 2017 and beyond; evaluation of the agreed short-term debt relief measures & updated DSA”, Eurobank Research, January This study constitutes an update of a Eurobank Research piece titled “Greece Evaluation of the agreed short-term relief measures & updated sustainability analysis of Greek public debt” that was published in December 2016. It provides a detailed analysis of Greece’s projected public borrowing needs …Read More
A pension system for younger workers in Greece: A proposal for growth
Nektarios, Milton, Tinios, Platon, Simeonidis, George, (2017), “A pension system for younger workers in Greece: A proposal for growth”, LSE Hellenic Observatory, 13 January Recent pension reforms help to trap Greece in deep crisis, but only increase the insecurity of pensioners. To break out of that vicious circle, a fresh start is needed. Such can result from the immediate introduction of a new type of pre-funded pensions. Such a new …Read More