A Round Table Discussion on the European Dept Crisis:
Τρίτη, 10 Ιανουαρίου 2012 09:54
- Lessons for Greece from the Scandinavian Experience
- Turning a problem into opportunity
On 17th of October 2011, at the Hilton Hotel in Athens, a round table discussion was organized by the Hellenic-Swedish Chamber of Commerce in co-operation with the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE), on the economic crisis which is a burning issue for Greece and Europe in general. Two distinguished economists were the quest speakers: Dr. Anders Paalzow, Dean of Stockholm School of Economics and Mr. Yannis Stournaras, Professor of Economics in the University of Athens and General Director of IOBE. More than 150 people from the public and private sector were present there.
Dr. Anders Paalzow, referred to the Swedish and Latvian crises and particularly to the lessons to be learned from this Scandinavian experience, concluding that these practices could be proved very useful for the case of Greece. The main points of these lessons are:
· There is no quick fix,
· Should be a political will and coalition
· Should be developed a social contract
· Long term commitment to everything is decided
· It is needed to address the roots of the crisis and not only the symptoms.
And he closed stating: As the Swedish crisis in the 1990’s was an investment in the future I hope that this could be the case for Greece as well.
Mr. Stournaras presented the subject “The Reforming Greek Economy: Turning a problem into an opportunity”. He referred analytically to the chronic distortions and burdens of the Greek economy, first to its Fiscal derailment concerning both the expenditure and revenue sides and second to its structural competitiveness problems. He presented his views and proposals for a growth potential and concluded with the following critical factors for success:
§ Adherence to the targets
§ Social acceptance: Explaining the vision, combating tax evasion, tackling unemployment
§ Urgent need for as much as possible political consensus
§ Weakness / inability of public administration to implement the measures outlined in the economic program: Use extensive outsourcing to the private sector.
