The Maastricht Convergence Criteria and Greece in the 1980s and the 1990s

Abstract

The course of the Greek economy in the past few years has been at the epicentre of international debate, as part of the fallout from the global financial crisis. The Greek economy’s present position within the global economy is the result of a series of economic policy choices made by the Greek government, as well as various economic developments that distorted the growth of the global economy, culminating in the outbreak of the global financial crisis in August 2007. This collaborative effort highlights the factors and economic policies that made it necessary for Greece to resort to the Tripartite Support Mechanism and remain under its supervision until 2015. The evolution of Greek political economy, from Greece’s accession to the Economic and Monetary Union until 2015, is thoroughly analyzed and recorded. Although identifying the causes of the Greek economic crisis has been the object of intense economic and political debate, there has been no systematic, holistic, and scientifically documented study of the origins of the crisis. The purpose of this collective effort is to shed light on all the factors that led the Greek economy to the brink of collapse.