Suchergebnisse

Intro -- Contents -- About the Authors -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- References -- Part I: The "Party Period" Before the Crisis -- Chapter 2: The Costs and Benefits for Joining a Common Currency with Emphasis on Weaker Member States: The Pre-crisis Debate -- 2.1 Potential Sources of Conflicts/Costs: De-synchronization of Business Cycles -- 2.2 Demand Disturbances and Trade -- 2.3 Responses to Labor Market Rigidities -- 2.4 Shortage of Money Stocks for the Peripheral Countries -- 2.5 External Imbalances -- 2.6 The Effect of a Monetary Union on Trade Between Member States -- 2.7 Ten Years of EMU (2000-2009): Convergence or Divergence Prevailed? -- References -- Chapter 3: Greece Before the Crisis: The Critical Years in Domestic Politics -- 3.1 The Discussion in the Greek Parliament Ahead of the Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty -- 3.1.1 References to the Strategic Advantages of EMU Membership and Issues that Relate to the Common Currency Area and the Chances of Success of the Country in It -- 3.1.2 References to the Impact on Employment -- 3.1.3 References to the Impact on the Macro-environment -- 3.1.4 References with Regard to Institutions, Structural Reforms, and the Role of the State in the Economy -- 3.1.5 References with Regard to Tax Evasion and Tax Reforms -- 3.1.6 References with Regard to the Issue of Fiscal Consolidation -- 3.2 Various Other Debates and Key Speeches in the Greek Parliament During the Term of the Government That Brought the Maastricht Treaty for Ratification by the Greek Parliament -- 3.2.1 The Role of Greece in Europe and the Chances of Success -- 3.2.2 Employment and Education -- 3.2.3 Growth-Enhancing Structural Reforms, Privatizations, and Infrastructure Projects and the Role of the State in the Economy -- 3.2.4 Fiscal Stabilization -- 3.3 Overall Assessment -- References.

Two Greek economic analysts explain the Greek financial crisis—from beginning to end. The first section of Greece: From Exit to Recovery? explores the lead up to to Greece's adoption of the euro. Authors Theodore Pelagidis and Michael Mitsopoulos believe that the ensuing challenges were foreseeable. In fact, the authors posit that it was Greece's difficultly in dealing with those challenges that sparked the euro crisis. Section II analyzes discrete sectors of the economy, paying special attention to labor and finance—and the mistakes creditors made in focusing on reducing Greek incomes—rather than increasing competitiveness on non-labor costs. Section III investigates why Greek companies spend relatively little on research and development.? The authors' analysis indicates that policy decisions largely determine R&D performance in the private sector, and they advance a number of specific policy proposals to improve the situation.

The need for 'more Europe' stands out today in an international environment that is contaminated by populism, authoritarianism and demagogy. Consequently, when confronting political radicalism, the domains that the EU should henceforth concentrate on in a positive way must be specified, explaining practically and with pragmatism the reasons for 'more Europe'. In particular, the EU must deliver concrete benefits that citizens can see in their daily lives, but, at the same time, it has to give them more democratic control over their representation in EU bodies and in the way EU law is shaped and implemented. To accept such progress, the EU must first recognise the critical flaws in its current economic and political architecture, before proceeding to adopt policies that will adequately restore the dynamism of the European dream, leading to a more efficient and just EU. More democracy will help gather support, and ensure renewed progress towards a closer Union in which the single market is meaningfully deepened.

The current complicated economic situation in Greece - and the rising political uncertainty that once again accompanies it - has important repercussions for growth, incomes, employment and the banking system in both the short and long term. The new Greek government is trying to perform a balancing act that will on the one hand satisfy its electorate and the more extreme fractions within the Syriza party and on the other hand offer a number of key concessions to the country's European partners. It is thus imperative to carefully select which concessions the EU should make towards the new government.