Author Archives: Reforming Economist

Grexit is catastrophic for Greece

The Greek government reopened the discussion “euro or drachma.” The real question is not “euro or return to the drachma,” but “euro or Grexit.” Grexit to a new drachma is not a solution, it is a catastrophe. 14 Greek economists … Continue reading

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The euro’s leverage of competitiveness and its significance for the contrasting economic performance of Germany and Greece

Thanos Skouras, Professor Emeritus at the Athens University of Economics and Business revisits the notion of competitiveness with a view to its historical roots, draws a distinction between “essential” and “apparent” competitiveness, and applies the concepts to a discussion of Greece’s … Continue reading

Posted in General, Labour market, Macroeconomics, Political economy, Product market, Public sector productivity, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

“The more things change, the more they stay the same”. Professor Georges Siotis, former member of the Task Force for Greece, writes on the poor track record on reforms and presents three examples of “win-win” reforms that never came to … Continue reading

Posted in Economic development, General, Political economy, Public finance | Leave a comment

Greece & Europe: Beyond the Financial Crisis

Gikas A. Hardouvelis (University of Piraeus) gave a keynote address at the Harvard University Center for European Studies in the 2nd Annual Summit on the Future of Europe (September 22-23, 2015), where he addressed two main questions: Will the Euro Area survive the next … Continue reading

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The Greek NPL Issue and a Possible Resolution Path

Andreas Koutras argues that the creation of an Asset Management Company or bad bank that would acquire most if not all of the 100 bn NPL would be advantageous to the Greek economy the Greek banking system and the society, provided, … Continue reading

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Could a Return to the Drachma Help Greece Regain its Competitiveness?

Vasilis Sarafidis (Monash University) recently posted an article discussing the thesis that a return to the drachma would help Greece regain its competitiveness. His main point can be summarized as follows. The basic argument for returning back to the drachma is … Continue reading

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Capital Controls and Transactional Culture

Antonis Kotidis (Bonn Graduate School of Economics) documents that the recent imposition of capital controls led to an increase in the number of debit cards issued and in POS (point-of-sale) terminals installation. Although these developments are encouraging for the future of … Continue reading

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Lower VAT can tackle tax evasion

Nikolaos Artavanis (Isenberg School of Management – UMass Amherst) argues, in a timely article given the current proposed increases in VAT, that VAT increases do not go hand in hand with tax revenue increases in the presence of tax evasion … Continue reading

Posted in Macroeconomics, Public finance | 1 Comment

In addition to “Today”, there is also “Tomorrow”

Professor Thanasis Stengos (University of Guelph, Canada) published an article in Naftemporiki on the current negotiations with the European partners. The root of the problem is that the whole negotiation “game” has been approached by the Greek government as a … Continue reading

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A careful look at Greece’s options and why YES is the only one

Costas Meghir (Yale University) published a post in Huffington Post Greece that reviews Greece’s options and includes a rebuttal of positions recently voiced by Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz. You can read the post here (in Greek).

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