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An Explanation of the Greek Crisis:"The Insiders - Outsiders Society"

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  • Kollintzas, Tryphon
  • Vassilatos, Vanghelis
  • Papageorgiou, Dimitris

Abstract

In this paper we present stylized facts of the Greek economy that characterize the causes and the consequences of its ongoing crisis. Then, we offer an explanation that can account for those causes and consequences. This explanation is based on the view of Greek society as consisting of two groups with conflicting goals:'insiders' and 'outsiders'. Insiders are enjoying rightful and unrighteous benefits and the system is protecting them from their own potentially unlawful behavior, competition and meritocracy. Outsiders are the rest of society. The economic consequence of the 'insiders - outsiders society' is the accumulation of public and foreign debts as well as relatively low overall growth - features that characterize the Greek economy, for some time. Finally, following the insiders- outsiders explanation, we offer policy recommendations for an exit from the crisis and the resumption of growth.

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  • Kollintzas, Tryphon & Vassilatos, Vanghelis & Papageorgiou, Dimitris, 2012. "An Explanation of the Greek Crisis:"The Insiders - Outsiders Society"," CEPR Discussion Papers 8996, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8996
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    Cited by:

    1. Kollintzas, Tryphon & Papageorgiou, Dimitris & Vassilatos, Vanghelis, 2018. "Market and political power interactions in Greece: A theory," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 59-83.
    2. Benedikt Herrmann & Alexander Kritikos, 2013. "Growing out of the crisis: hidden assets to Greece's transition to an innovation economy," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Tryphon Kollintzas & Dimitris Papageorgiou & Efthymios Tsionas & Vanghelis Vassilatos, 2018. "Market and political power interactions in Greece: an empirical investigation," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-43, December.
    4. Baltas, Nicholas C., 2013. "The Greek financial crisis and the outlook of the Greek economy," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 32-37.
    5. Michalis Nikiforos & Laura Carvalho & Christian Schoder, 2015. "“Twin deficits” in Greece: in search of causality," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 302-330, October.
    6. Kollintzas, Tryphon & Vassilatos, Vanghelis & Papageorgiou, Dimitris, 2013. "A Neoclassical Growth Model for the Insiders ? Outsiders Society," CEPR Discussion Papers 9640, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Dimitris Papageorgiou, 2014. "BoGGEM: a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model for policy simulations," Working Papers 182, Bank of Greece.
    8. Tryphon Kollintzas & Dimitris Papageorgiou & Vanghelis Vassilatos, 2021. "Implications of market and political power interactions for growth and the business cycle I: private sector equilibrium," Working Papers 288, Bank of Greece.
    9. Gogos, Stylianos G. & Mylonidis, Nikolaos & Papageorgiou, Dimitris & Vassilatos, Vanghelis, 2014. "1979–2001: A Greek great depression through the lens of neoclassical growth theory," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 316-331.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Greek crisis; Insiders-outsiders; Twin deficits; Total factor productivity; Growth; Competitiveness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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