Labour and Pensions in the Greek Crisis

The Microfoundations of Disaster

Bibliographic Data

ID2940234
AuthorsAntigone Lyberaki (0009-0007-2796-3041, Panteion University, corresponding author), Platon Tinios (0000-0003-3103-5444, University of Piraeus)
Year2012
Volume60
Issue3
Pages363-386
Publication date2012-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Southeast European Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2701-8199 • E-ISSN: 2701-8202
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/soeu-2012-600307
OpenAlexW4302355268
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited3

This paper examines the antecedents and dynamics of the Greek crisis by focusing on pensions and the labour market -the microfoundations of disaster. The crisis was caused by fundamental features of Greece's political economy, already present before entry into the Monetary Union. The fact that reform did not take place until after the bailout may be seen as a governance shortcoming, linked to the way major policy choices are handled in Greece. Since the early 1990s, discussion of pensions and of labour flexibility had been avoided, quantification shunned and data withheld, in such a way that issues were tampered with to fit what was thought politically feasible. Thus, in those two areas, a disjunction was created between appearance and reality, as well as a difference in perceptions between domestic and external commentators. When pension and employment protection reform finally came in 2010, it was seemingly imposed from outside. However, the absence of a process through which problems are defined, proposals sought and solutions implemented remained an issue even after the bailout. In this way Greece's recovery process is still undermined by the same governance shortcomings which were responsible for bringing on the crisis in the first place

Business · Economics · Financial crisis · Financial system · Keynesian economics · Microfoundations · Employment and Welfare Studies

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