Greek Economy Research Articles

Animal husbandry in Classical and Hellenistic Thessaly (Central Greece): A zooarchaeological perspective from Almiros

Scholars have been arguing about the nature and scale of Greco-Roman economy in mainland Greece for over fifty years. In this study we investigate the faunal assemblages of Magoula Plataniotiki and New Halos, two neighbouring Classical and Hellenistic towns in Almiros (Thessaly, Greece) to scrutinize how the animal economy functioned in central Greece between fourth and third century BCE, using traditional zooarchaeology. The results indicate an apparently stable subsistence economy, primarily based on caprine production, in addition to cattle, pig, and equid breeding. The establishment of New Halos brought about minor changes to the traditional herding and provisioning system; husbandry strategies remained apparently stable, whereas the contribution of game to the diet increased. The intensification of environmental exploitation, due to demographic nucleation in the plain, might have triggered such changes. The surprising underrepresentation of pig in New Halos suggests pork consumption on a non-household level. Zooarchaeological studies from various contemporary sites in Greece show similar patterns suggestive of small-scale subsistence economy. Geopolitical and environmental factors and tradition might have halted the integration of the Almiros markets into the larger market of the Hellenistic world. This study proposes an economic model where small-scale animal and plant husbandry practiced side by side that fits the agro-pastoral model of the ancient Greek economy suggested by Halstead and Hodkinson among others.

A New Method for Measuring Total Factor Productivity Growth Based on the Full Industry Equilibrium Approach: The Case of the Greek Economy

A new method of identifying the sources of output growth and measuring total factor productivity (TFP) is proposed, with an application to data from the Greek economy. The price accounting approach, based on the full industry equilibrium (FIE) framework introduced by Opocher and Steedman, where technical progress not only increases outputs relative to inputs but also reduces output prices relative to input rewards, is used. The contributions of this paper are that, first, it amends the FIE TFP measurement approach to account for heterogeneous labor inputs, imported inputs, and indirect taxes, and applies the method to real-world data from the Greek economy; second, it provides a comparison of the results with those found by the use of the neoclassical approach to TFP measurement arguing that the FIE approach measures better sectoral TFP change, and third, it provides an estimate of the effects of sectoral research and development (R&D) expenditures and R&D diffusion from other sectors on TFP change for the Greek economy.

The Impact of the Lockdown on the Greek Economy and the Role of the Recovery Fund

Abstract We develop a microfounded macroeconomic model that embeds the key features of the Greek economy. After calibrating the model to Greek data over 1995–2019, we assume that the economy is initially in the year 2019 and then quantify the adverse economic impact of the lockdown measures taken to control the spread of the pandemic, as well as the implications of the various policy measures (at national and EU level) taken to cushion the impact of the economic hit. We give quantitative answers to questions like: What will be the size and duration of the economic downturn? What are the implications of the national fiscal stimulus? What will be the role of the fiscal transfers coming from the European Recovery Fund? Our results imply that the national fiscal stimulus package adopted so far is helpful but, for the Greek economy to enter an era of sustainable growth, a mix of policies is also needed that combines: (i) a growth-enhancing fiscal mix (ii) product market deregulation (iii) a socially productive use of the resources coming from the Recovery Fund.

Has the Composition of the Greek Banking Sector Investment Portfolio Contributed to the Greek Economy Financial Crisis?

The banking sector in Greece met a large growth and provided the Greek economy with a vital push after the credit release. The galloping increase of private, business, and public loans reinforced business activity and offered high incomes for a few years. However, this push that the Greek economy experienced was based on consumption and not on the development of financial sectors that could constantly produce income for the economy and the state. The research examines the Greek banking investment portfolio from 2003 until 2017 based on the portfolio theory of Markowitz. Furthermore, it evaluates its differentiation and examines whether or not has contributed to the financial crisis that the domestic economy faced the previous decade. The findings point out that the negative portfolio returns during the span of seven out of 15 reviewed years and their covariances highlight that the portfolio diversification was not successful according to Markowitz's theory.

Redefining Greece in 2021: An Overview of the New Government's Plan to Revive Greece

This article aims to provide an overview of the two programs designed by the current Greek government to revive the country and prepare it for the 21st Century. Both plans, "Greece 2021" and "Greece 2.0" comprise four pillars outlining a wide range of programs to be implemented between 2021 and 2026. The first pillar of "Greece 2021" aims to highlight the significance of the events that led to the War of Independence in 1821. This will define how these events had impacted the world of politics and eventually the revolt of 1821. The purpose of "Greece 2021" is to remind the world, particularly the Greek youth, of the country’s glorious past,specifically, the previous 200 years of modern Greece. The young generation is also provided with the opportunity to envision the future status of Greece and play an active role in achieving the desired status. For this, a wide range of projects and events such as scientific conventions, cultural events, exhibitions are going to be held across the globe. However, at the same time, the EU has approved Greece’s proposed Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) worth over €30 billion. It contains massive plans to transform the Greek economy by means of investments in digitization, infrastructure development, and modernizing business processes. RRF is expected to generate around180,000 jobs and secure 7Percent GDP growth in a sustainable manner by reducing the impact of human activities on the environment

Financial literacy in Greece

Abstract In an extremely turbulent fiscal situation, Greece has received financial help three times between 2010 and 2015. The Greek people have had a very large percentage of the income reduced since 2009, and have had to adapt very quickly to a new reality. This paper aims to shed light on the financial choices the Greek people made and to examine how well they can respond to urgent financial needs in a time when the Greek society has shifted towards poverty. Keywords: Financial literacy, Greek economy, Greek debt crisis.

Financial literacy in Greece

Abstract In an extremely turbulent fiscal situation, Greece has received financial help three times between 2010 and 2015. The Greek people have had a very large percentage of the income reduced since 2009, and have had to adapt very quickly to a new reality. This paper aims to shed light on the financial choices the Greek people made and to examine how well they can respond to urgent financial needs in a time when the Greek society has shifted towards poverty. Keywords: Financial literacy, Greek economy, Greek debt crisis.

The Evolution of Agricultural Employment in Greece

Abstract Agriculture is considered one of the most important economic sectors in the European Union as it accounts for a large percentage (about 44%) of the EU budget, but also due to the fact that a large part of its population and areas are affected by agricultural activities. In Greece, the agricultural sector is the main district of the economy with an irreplaceable and crucial role as an important employer for a large workforce, thus ensuring social cohesion and regional development. Following Greece's accession to the EU, Greek agriculture is defined by the rules of European agriculture through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In general, the role of agriculture in Greece is proved by the fact that it occupies a large percentage of its land (about 30%) and employs 82% of rural population compared to 43% of urban population. Rural population in Greece is higher than that of the rest EU member states. The agricultural sector contributes to the country's GDP directly about 4% of the gross value added of the Greek economy and despite the problems it faces, it has demonstrated relative resilience to adverse economic conditions of recent years. In the present work, statistics concerning the agricultural employment in Greece are given and the main structural problems of Greek Agriculture are mentioned. In terms of agricultural employment, the absolute number of people has decreased significantly over time. The ratio employees in agricultural sector to the total number of employees decreased from 24% in 1989 to 15.2% in 2000 and 10.6% in 2017 but still remains significantly higher than the average of 4.4 % in 2017 in the European Union. Thus, in 2017 in Greece, 453,440 thousand people worked in agriculture. In connection with the outbreak of the Coronavirus Pandemic, especially in Greece, it was found that there is a lack of labor in the countryside and that the orientation of the economy should be directed to the agricultural sector to avoid possible food shortages and most importantly that this sector may lead to the stabilization of the Greek economy. Keywords: Agricultural holdings, People employed.

The Effect of Changes in Economic Growth on Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) Problem in the Greek Banking System

The Greek economy was affected very badly by the global economic and financial crisis of 2007-2008. The main reason of this catastrophic event is that the country’s speedy economic and financial growth in the pre-crisis period heavily based on the foreign funds, and the flow of these funds stopped immediately -even turned to opposite direction- with the spread of the crisis to Europe. This negative happening as well as the rearrangement of the public debts and remarkable reduction in the bank deposits led to a big financial crisis, and thus economic recession. Meanwhile, the loan quality in the banking system worsened extremely -almost half of the credits turned to bad loan- due to the macroeconomic deterioration as well as the banks’ very tolerated lending policies before the crisis, the borrowers’ imperfect attitudes, and improper governance. The improvement in NPLs ratio, which started simultaneously with the modest economic recovery in 2017, decreased it to 30.2 percent in 2020 from its peak level of 48.5 percent in 2016. However, a big part of it has been achieved thanks to write-offs and loan-sales.In this study, it was aimed to measure the effect of the changes in economic growth on these drastic changes in NPLs ratio. Although the changes in the gross domestic product (GDP) and NPLs ratio have always been in consistency with the economic theory, except the pandemic year of 2020, the often big differences between their changing rates imply that some other factors have also played significant role on NPLs movements. The findings of some studies for Greece indicate to remarkable impact of both economic growth and the other factors on bad loans issue. The results of our regression analysis also show that the relation between economic growth and NPLs is not so strong.In spite of the noticeable improvement, NPLs ratio is still at a very high level and requires constant remarkable declines in order to come down to the generally accepted levels. To perform this and have economic and financial recovery at the same time, the recovery should not be achieved only by write-offs and portfolio sales, but by collections from borrowers, and executions. The banks and the government should make the necessary changes in their policies and applications so as to decrease NPLs ratio through new lending, compromise with proper borrowers, and court executions. Keywords: Greece, global crisis, sovereign debt crisis, economic growth, non-performing loans. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/12-12-05 Publication date: June 30 th 2021

The Economy of Greece and the FIFA Ranking of its National Football Team

The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of the Greek economy with the FIFA ranking of the Greek National Football Team in order to find out whether there exists some sort of statistical association. The period under consideration starts with the establishment of the European and Monetary Union in 1992 and ends with the current year of 2021. In 1992, FIFA started to rank national football teams which restricts the extent of time to be used in this study. The descriptive evidence presented in this paper shows that there exists strong positive association between the level of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Greece and the ranking of its national football team. Keywords: FIFA, Greece, Football, GDP, European Union, National Teams.

Financial protection in health among the middle-aged and elderly: Evidence from the Greek economic recession

Since the late 2000s, the Greek economy has entered a long period of recession, with reforms and retrenchment in health care being among the main public policy priorities. This study investigates the extent to which financial protection in health has changed among older households during the Greek crisis. We focus on the middle-aged and elderly, the heavy users of health services, who have faced a substantial health and financial burden during the crisis. Our analysis shows that the headcount and overshoot of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) substantially increased from 2007 to 2015, suggesting that financial protection has eroded to a great extent. Prior to the crisis, CHE was mainly due to inpatient care, followed by outpatient care and medicines. However, the contribution of spending for outpatient medicines to CHE substantially increased during the study period. The headcount of CHE rose across all socioeconomic groups we examined, with low-income households and households with chronic patients being disproportionately affected. In 2007, we do not report signs of socioeconomic inequalities in the risk of CHE. On the contrary, our results show that households of low socioeconomic status are more likely to incur CHE in 2015, revealing substantial inequalities in the risk of CHE. This finding raises significant distributional and equity concerns. Strengthening financial protection among older households is an imperative challenge for the Greek health system, and several policy responses need to be adopted towards this direction.

What Is the Macroeconomic Impact of Higher Decarbonization Speeds? The Case of Greece

In alignment with the European Union’s legislation, Greece submitted its final 10-year National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) in December 2019, setting more ambitious energy and climate targets than those originally proposed in the draft version of the document. Apart from higher penetration of renewable energy sources (RES), the final NECP projects also zero carbon use in power generation till 2030. Although decarbonization has long been regarded beneficial for economies that base their energy production on coal, as it is the case with Greece, the macroeconomic and societal ramifications of faster transitions to carbon-free economies remain highly unexplored. Under this context, in this paper, we soft-link energy models, namely Times-Greece and Primes, with a macroeconomic model, namely Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), to measure the effects of the final and draft NECPs on the Greek economy and evaluate the impact of higher decarbonization speeds. We find that the faster transition scenario displays both economic and societal merits, increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and household income by about 1% and 7%, respectively.

Human Capital and Production Structure: Evidence from Greece

The present paper offers a theoretical review of the concept of human capital and its component elements, namely Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Working Activities, and attempts to sketch the requirements of the production structure in the Greek economy. In addition, the role is stressed of the educational model in Greece in positively affecting the changes underway under the simultaneous impact of the 4th industrial revolution and COVID-19.

Austerity, Assistance and Institutions: Lessons from the Greek Sovereign Debt Crisis

This paper studies the Greek sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the 2007-8 global financial crisis looking for barriers to, and engines of, growth. The vehicle is a calibrated medium-scale micro-founded macroeconomic model. Departing from 2008, our simulations show that the adopted economic adjustment program (the fiscal austerity mix combined with the fiscal and monetary assistance provided by the EU, ECB and IMF), jointly with the observed deterioration in institutional quality (the degree of protection of property rights) can explain most (around 22% of GDP) of the cumulative loss in GDP in the data (around 26% of GDP) between 2008 and 2016. In particular, the economic adjustment program can explain a fall of around 12%, while the deterioration in property rights accounts for another 10%. Counterfactual simulations, on the other hand, show that this loss could have been around 9% only, if the country had followed a different fiscal policy mix; if the degree of product marker liberalization was closer to that in the core euro zone countries; and, above all, if institutional quality in Greece had simply remained at its pre-crisis level. On the other hand, in the absence of the official fiscal bailouts, the depression would be much deeper, while, the accommodative role played by the quantitative policies of the ECB has been vital to the Greek economy. These results can be useful in the face of the ongoing covid-19 crisis.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s11079-020-09613-3)

Crisis, austerity, and fiscal expenditure in Greece: recent experience and future prospects in the post-COVID-19 era

This paper provides a discussion of the relationships between austerity, the macroeconomic performance of the Greek economy, debt sustainability, and the provision of healthcare and other social services since 2010. It explains that austerity was imposed in the name of debt sustainability. However, there was a vicious cycle of recession and austerity: each round of austerity measures led to a deeper recession, which increased the debt-to-GDP ratio and therefore undermined the goal of debt sustainability and led to another round of austerity. One of the effects of the austerity policies was the significant reduction of healthcare expenditure, which made Greece more vulnerable to the recent pandemic. Finally, it shows how recent pre-COVID debt sustainability analyses projected that Greek public debt would become unsustainable even under minor deviations from an optimistic baseline. The pandemic shock will thus lead to an explosion of public debt. This brings again to the fore the need for a restructuring of Greek public debt, and other policies that will address the eurozone’s structural imbalances.

Greece Before and After the Euro: Macroeconomics, Politics and the Quest for Reforms

This paper analyses developments in the Greek economy before and after the euro. The main thesis is that the imbalances that led to the crisis of the post-2010 period were building up during the previous three decades and that their root causes were not merely economic, but social, structural, institutional and political. The fiscal imbalances created in the 1980s were not adequately addressed by the convergence policies of the 1990s, while the long-standing problem of low international competitiveness was further exacerbated by the failure to promote the necessary structural reforms. Greece's accession to the euro area with major structural and fiscal imbalances and low and deteriorating international competitiveness, led to a steep rise in its external indebtedness. The lopsided adjustment and the inadequacy of the reforms was due to domestic political and social constraints, both before and after euro area entry. In view of the institutional weaknesses of the euro area itself, the external imbalances ultimately led to the external debt crisis of 2010, the imposition of the economic adjustment programs and the ‘great depression’ of the 2010s. The paper also explores the prerequisites for a sustained recovery of the Greek economy within the euro area, once the global economic crisis induced by the coronavirus pandemic is over. The quest for wide ranging reforms remains Greece’s top priority.

The bailout of Greece and the instability of the Eurozone

The euro has been sliding against the US dollar for weeks. Concerns about the public finances of eurozone countries Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain, the so-called «PIGS,» have emerged in financial markets. Greece is facing the severest crisis, with its 10-year bond yield approaching 7%. The Greek government estimates its budget deficit at 12.7% of GDP in 2009. Gross government debts amount to 113% of its GDP. If the interest rate Greece has to pay for its debts keeps rising, the country may have to default on its obligations.
 In an attempt to recoup confidence in the future of the country, the Greek government has announced a freeze on public salaries, a reduction in the number of public servants, and an increase in taxes on gas, tobacco, alcohol, and big real-estate properties. This should help to reduce the deficit to 8% in 2010. However, the markets do not trust this solution.
 While the increase in taxes will cause new problems for the Greeks, other problems remain unaddressed: The huge public sector has not been substantially reduced. Wage rates remain uncompetitive as a result of strong labor unions.
 Moreover, it is not clear if the government can stick to these small spending cuts, as there will be a general strike in February. In December 2008, Greece experienced riots against comparatively minor political reforms. As the majority of the population seems to be against spending cuts, the government may not be able to prevent the bankruptcy of the country.
 For years, the Greek government has demonstrated rather thriftless spending behavior. This was exacerbated when Greece started to pay lower interest rates on government bonds by virtue of having entered the European Economic and Monetary Union.
 Greece’s interest rates were subsidized due to an implicit guarantee from the strong members of the eurozone, who were expected to support weaker members in times of trouble. During the first years of the euro, interest rates on Greek bonds were thus reduced; they approached German bond yields. Greece spent wildly but paid interest rates like a much more conservative country. Meanwhile, the Greek economy and voting public adapted to government spending subsidized by low interest rates.

Is there a way out of the crisis? Macroeconomic challenges for Greece after the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT In the past decade, Hellenic economic adjustment managed to restore macroeconomic balances and growth rates although to the detriment of debt sustainability and citizens’ welfare. Covid-19 hit in 2020 the growth drivers of the Greek economy leading, once again, to rise in unemployment and to depression of economic activity. The article presents the macroeconomic priorities for the Greek economy after Covid-19 pandemic. The analysis considers four issue areas that are closely linked with growth namely primary fiscal balance, debt sustainability, external competitiveness and unemployment-poverty. It is argued that under certain conditions positive evolution of the four variables can keep Greek economy and Greek productive networks on track, limiting negative repercussions for the Greek society.

The political economy of the Greek health sector and the implications of the economic crisis

ABSTRACT The manifestation of the world economic crisis at 2007 and its consequences have brought the European economy and, more specifically, the Greek economy in front of new challenges for adjustment to the new era. In 2010, Greece adopted a fiscal adjustment programme in order to fix the fiscal weaknesses of its economy. This fiscal adjustment programme was completed on 20 August 2018, eight years after its adoption. Adopting the fiscal consolidation process had certain implications for specific sectors of the Greek economy. For this reason, the aim of this article is to examine the political economy of the health sector in Greece, and the implications of the economic crisis. The health sector is crucial for the productive capabilities of a national economy. The study of the health sector of Greece after the adoption of the fiscal adjustment programme is going to reveal the extent to which it is capable of confronting public health challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis focuses on the economic effects of the economic crisis on the health sector and the prospects of the Greek economy’s productive capabilities.

Inter-sectoral analysis of the Greek economy and the COVID-19 multiplier effects

ABSTRACT Using a multi-sector model, with joint-products and heterogeneous labour, and data from the Supply and Use Tables, this paper analyses the inter-sectoral structure of the Greek economy and estimates the COVID-19 multiplier effects on this economy. It is found that the economy is heavily dependent on imports of industrial commodities, while significant multiplier effects are concentrated, primarily, in services and, secondarily, in the primary production. Furthermore, using these estimations and the available facts and figures about the COVID-19 impact on the elements of autonomous demand in 2020, we estimate a decrease in GDP in the range of 5.67–7.16 per cent, a decrease in the levels of employment in the range of 5.32–7.20 per cent, and a decrease in total imports in the range of 10.40–15.53 per cent, respectively. The evaluation of the results of our analysis indicates that, on the one hand, a short-term demand management recovery programme could be implemented, mainly, through the Public Sector and, secondarily, the Tourism Sector, while, on the other hand, a long-term growth-oriented policy should be directed towards industrial production and implement policies of import substitution.