Oct 13 2016

The Political Economy of NPLs resolution: Ownership and conditionality

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Posted in: Greece, The Greek Debt Crisis, The Greek Economy

eleniBy Eleni Panagiotarea

Greece’s non-performing exposure ratio is the second highest in Europe, largely linked to the unprecedented contraction of domestic economic activity in recent years. Causality is known to go both ways, with persistently high non-performing loans (NPLs) constituting a drag on credit and GDP growth. Theoretically, Greek governments keen to reduce the debt overhang and restore the productive pillars of the economy should have created the conditions for a rapid and effective workout of NPLs. The country’s third bailout programme has provided a road map for reform, with the Institutions bent on facilitating or enforcing ownership. Conditionality, anchored on a ‘reforms for cash’ logic, has reduced perceived or real margins for noncompliance. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on October 13, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , ,

Sep 16 2016

The Greek crisis is a crisis of production, not of public finance

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Posted in: Greece, Greek GDP, Greek impasse, Greek Politics, Greek Society, The Greek Debt Crisis, The Greek Economy, Uncategorized

Antigone-Lyberaki104x147By Antigone Lyberaki

The Greek economic crisis is a crisis of production. Its key actor is a unique feature of the economy, the Greek family firm. Seen through that prism, the crisis is simply another episode in the story of how small firms tried to fit into the world economy as that was becoming increasingly globalized. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on September 16, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Jul 19 2016

Grexit and Brexit, past and future: Intertwined tales?

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Posted in: Brexit, current affairs, Greece, Greek Politics, Greek Referendum, Uncategorized

Platon914_smBy Platon Tinios

Only one letter separates Grexit from Brexit. Against expectations Grexit (from the Eurozone) did not materialise in 2015. A year later, expectations were also confounded as Brexit (from the EU) inexorably unfolds. The two processes, one contingent and the other all too real, have intertwined in the past: the Greek crisis provided a potent image of what leaving the EU could avoid.  Grexit was instrumental in bringing forth Brexit. In the future, the causality will be reversed: Brexit will change the background and the rules where the decisive acts of the Greek crisis will be played out. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on July 19, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Jun 29 2016

How Brexit will affect the balance of power in the European Parliament

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Posted in: Brexit, current affairs

AngelosChryssogelosCrop

By Angelos Chryssogelos

Given the UK has one of the largest contingents of MEPs, how will Brexit change the way political parties are aligned in the European Parliament? Angelos Chryssogelos writes that the effects of removing British MEPs from the Parliament will be wide-ranging, with sovereigntist forces potentially strengthened inside the centre-right EPP, the centre-left S&D becoming more oriented toward an anti-austerity platform, and Eurosceptic forces more likely to consolidate around the ENF group led by Marine Le Pen. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on June 29, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jun 27 2016

No respite: Greece’s relationship with Europe after Brexit

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Posted in: current affairs, Greece, Greek Politics, Greek Society, The Greek Economy

AngelosChryssogelosCropBy Angelos Chryssogelos

The vote for Brexit in the referendum of 23 June has obvious immediate effects for Greece. Increased uncertainty will hamper Greece’s economic recovery. When the UK formally exits the EU, the consequences for Greek workers and students there as well as for Greek tourism will be negative. But it is important to also assess the place of Greece in a recalibrated EU in the long term, as well as the strategic repercussions of Brexit for Greek foreign policy. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on June 27, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Jun 14 2016

The ECB grants debt relief to all Eurozone nations except Greece

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Posted in: current affairs, Greece, The Greek Debt Crisis, The Greek Economy

De_GrauweBy Paul De Grauwe
Greece may be about to get some debt relief, although there is still resistance to the idea. This column argues that the ECB has been providing other Eurozone countries with debt relief since early 2015 through its programme of quantitative easing. The reason given for excluding Greece from the QE programme – the ‘quality’ of its government bonds – can easily be overcome if the political will exists to do so. It is time to start treating a country struggling under the burden of immense debt in the same way as the other Eurozone countries are treated. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on June 14, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , ,

Jun 13 2016

What those calling for Brexit could learn from the Greek bailout referendum

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Posted in: current affairs, Greece, Greek Referendum, Greek Society, Hellenic Observatory, Kevin Featherstone, Syriza

Kevin Oct 2013 croppedBy Kevin Featherstone

In the summer of 2015, Greece held a referendum on a proposed bailout deal, with the electorate decisively rejecting the proposal. Kevin Featherstone writes that much like the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the referendum in Greece was accompanied by the rise of populist campaigning in which emotional appeals had greater resonance than economic evidence. Following the result, however, the romanticism of the campaign quickly gave way to political and economic realities. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on June 13, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , ,

Apr 11 2016

The Hellenic Observatory at LSE celebrates its 20th anniversary

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Posted in: Hellenic Observatory, Kevin Featherstone, Spyros Economides

Kevin Oct 2013 croppedBy Kevin Featherstone

The Hellenic Observatory, located in LSE’s European Institute, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2016. Kevin Featherstone looks back at its story so far.

In the mid-1990s, a campaign was launched to establish a Chair on Contemporary Greece that was neither concerned with the ancient or classical past, nor the arts and humanities. LSE would champion the study of contemporary Greek society, politics and economics and it established the ‘Eleftherios Venizelos Chair in Contemporary Greek Studies’. This was endowed by philanthropic donations from some thirteen donors in Greece, at the time one of the largest donations made to the School. The Chair was to be a fully tenured, academic post in LSE, established in perpetuity. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on April 11, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 6 2016

Greece. The country with the half Drachma

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Posted in: Greece, Greek Politics, Syriza, The Greek Debt Crisis, The Greek Economy

andreaskoutras

By Andreas Koutras

A few days after the introduction of the bank capital controls and with thousands of pensioners queuing up outside the bank branches, the Prime Minister’s Office received a piece of research on the effect of the capital controls on the electorate. The data disclosed were very surprising even counter-intuitive. It was apparent that the closing of the banks had a very small negative effect. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on April 6, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , ,

Mar 9 2016

Experiments with austerity and anti-poverty policies in Greece: “Like Hodja’s donkey: it died just after it learned not to eat”

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Posted in: austerity, Greece, Greek Society, The Greek Debt Crisis

Arapoglou ImageBy Vassilis P. Arapoglou

In this brief note I want to summarize the scope of my presentation at the LSE research seminar on March 8, 2016. My aim is to reflect upon the findings of a research project on homelessness and poverty in the Athens, which was conducted with the support of the Hellenic Observatory and the National Bank of Greece, so as to shed some light on the contemporary debate and the negotiations between Greece and its lenders for the future of social policies in Greece. More specifically, I want to discuss the role of civil society organizations in the design and implementation of anti-poverty policies under austerity. Continue reading →

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Posted by: Posted on March 9, 2016 by Blog Admin   Tagged with: , , , , ,