Panos Belias
(RIEAS Research Associate)
Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 12 July 2019
Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).
Introduction
After the 2008 financial crisis, the world economy faced an enormous challenge, the severity of which had not been matched since the Great Depression. However, this time round, the economic policies that were followed around the world were aimed at stimulating the economy which was contrary to the austerity policies that were followed during the Great Depression (Roeger& Veld, 2012). A year later, things got worse for five European countries (Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Greece) as they were under the additional pressure of the nascent Sovereign debt crisis. Severe austerity measures had to be implemented in all five countries in order to put their economies on a trajectory that would converge to sustainability in the mid-term (Lane, 2012). After many years of economic hardships, the Greek people, who were at the epicenter of the sovereign debt crisis, demonstrated their desire for change by electing a new prime minister. ... Read more