“Greece: Are we missing the reform opportunity of the crisis?”

An opinion piece on Greece’ reform program by Michael Haliassos, Professor of Macroeconomics and Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt, recently published on the Center of Economic Policy Research’s policy portal VOX, has hit the threshold of 9000 readers. Given the fact that the current intensive discussions regarding success prospects of a third package for Greece hinge crucially on the available margins for reforms and on how they are implemented, the arguments highlighted in the opinion piece are still highly topical. “Looking at the past record and the missed opportunities, a refocusing of efforts on both sides is necessary for success,“ Haliassos states.

In the opinion piece, Haliassos argues that the Greek adjustment program failed because of its design. “By focusing on deficit reductions and the wrong type of reform, it failed to build up the only thing that could provide the basis for debt repayment – namely a dynamic, export-oriented productive base,” Haliassos writes. A broader reform agenda that creates hope would be accepted by Greeks and it would make eventual repayment more likely.

Link to the opinion piece “Greece: Are we missing the reform Opportunity of the crisis?”