Introduction
Greece is a democratic, high income and developed country from the European continent with the 44th highest GDP and the 29nd highest HDI in the world. According to the International Monetary Fund, Greece’s GDP for fiscal year 2012 was USD 266 billion. The service sector accounts the largest chunk of it at 78% that includes the public and tourism sector. The industrial sector contributes to 18% of Greece’s GDP. Greece’s agricultural sector contributes a mere 4%, as shown in Figure below:
Source: The World Fact book, www.cia.gov.in – Greece (2012)
Source: The World Fact book, www.cia.gov.in – Greece (2012)
The workforce composition is also shown above. It must be pointed that the agricultural sector though corners a significant 20% of the entire workforce but accounts only for 4% of the Greek GDP implying vast income inequalities.
Greece has a history of financial trouble with high debt, endemic corruption and tax evasion. However, things took the turn for the worse in 2008 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis when the country faced a full-blown sovereign debt crisis.
Causes
The Greece economic crisis has been caused in varying parts and with varying significance by a number of factors. The key reasons for the Greek economic crisis can be identified as – Greece’s entry into the Eurozone in spite of its inherent inadequacies; insufficient tax base and reckless government spending coupled with corruption.
Greece officially adopted the Euro and became a part of the Eurozone in 2001. Becoming a member of the Eurozone required countries to meet specific criterion called the Maastricht convergence criteria. However at the time of its admission to the Eurozone, Greece was nowhere close to meeting th...
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...an Central Bank, Press and Information Division, 2 January 2001. Web: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2001/html/pr010102.en.html
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The European Union has been helped economically ever since World War II. Right after World War II’s end, Europe was struggling to hold on. The countries of the modern-day European Union thought it would be a good idea to come together and help each others struggling economy. To this day, this decision has had a very positive outcome on the EU’s economy. As shown in Diagram 1, the European Union combined together has the world’s highest GDP at 18.3 Trillion USD as compared to the United States’ 17.4 Trillion USD GDP and China’s 10.4 Trillion USD GDP. The idea
However, there are many countries that have not yet adopted the Euro and have remained incredulous about it. Two countries that fit into this example are the UK and Denmark. The UK’s reluctances to adopt the Euro has begun with its opt-out of the Maastricht Treaty that was signed in 1992 by all members of the European Community and has led to the creation of euro. Within the Conservative Party John Major, who was at that time the Prime Minister of Great Britain, was considered “pro-Euro”, as he pledged to keep Britain “at the very heart of Europe”. However, as his government was endorsing the Treaty, he was faced with strong antagonism in the House of Commons that consisted mostly of the so-called Maastricht Rebels who were members of his own Conservative Party rather than the Labour opposition. The endorsement was voted down and Major’s authority in Parliamen...
And college graduation rates are 20% higher among Greeks than non-Greeks.” This part of the article immediately had me intrigued because it shows how impactful Greek life can be to your life. “I really see that there’s a great correlation between those skills being developed and the ability to be successful in any endeavor,” she said. “Not necessarily just famous-successful, like a president or CEO, but successful as a community leader or as a small business owner.”
Greece is a country well known by its great interests and diverse cultures. It is located between the East and the West in the continent of Europe, which is known as a great location in the continent. “It covers about 130, 647 square kilometers of land and 1,310 square kilometers of water, making it the 97th largest nation in the world with a total area of 131,957 square kilometers. Greece became an independent state in 1829, after gaining its sovereignty from Turkey. The population of Greece is 10,767,827 (2012) and the nation has a density of 82 people per square kilometer. The currency of Greece is the Euro (EUR). As well, the people of Greece are referred to as Greek. Greece shares land borders with four countries; Macedonia, Albania,
Officially titled the Hellenic Republic, Greece is a country whose historical and cultural heritage continues to influence the modern world through art, philosophy and politics. Greece is located in southern europe. Critically placed at the byroads of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. Greece shares land borders with four countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Republic of Macedonia. The country is greatly consumed by water to the south with over 1,400 islands, the largest of them being Crete. Over eighty percent of Greece is of mountains, the largest and most culturally significant being mount Olympus, which in Greek mythology is the resting place of the twelve olympians. Greece is a country which is filled with aesthetically pleasing landmarks which have existed for thousands of years and are deemed historically significant. These include, but are not limited to the Parthenon, Acropolis of Athens, Panathenaic stadium, Mount Athos, Sounion (where the temple of Poseidon lays), Temple of Hephaestus and Theatre of Dionysus. These are just a few of the influential landmarks this authentic country possesses.
Historically, financial crises have been followed by a wave of governments defaulting on their debt obligations. The global economic history has experienced sovereign debt crisis such as in Latin America during the 80s, in Russia at the end of the 90s and in Argentina in the beginning of the 00s. The European debt crisis is the most significant of its kind that the economic world was seen started from 2010. Financial crises tend to lead to, or exacerbate, sharp economic downturns, low government revenues, widening government deficits, and high levels of debt, pushing many governments into default. Greece is currently facing such a sovereign debt crisis and Europe’s most indebted country despite its surplus in the early 2000s. Greece accumulated high levels of debt during the decade before the crisis, when the capital markets were highly liquid. As the crisis has unfolded, and capital markets have become more illiquid, Greece may no longer be able to roll over its maturing debt obligations. Investment by both the private and the public sectors has ground to a halt. Public sector debt has increased substantially as the state had to rely on official assistance to payroll expenses, fiscal deficit and fund social payments.
The Greek economy has seen a large collapse following the recent worldwide recession. The European Union has expressed concerns for the impact that Greece’s economic collapse will negatively affect other member nations. Greece and the European Union are working to reduce the Greek deficit and to contain the economic crisis to Greece.
Greece." Journal Of Critical Studies In Business & Society 3.1 (2012): 12-39. Business Source Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
On the 25th of March 1821, the Greeks’ fight for independence from the Turks began. After about 8 long years of numerous battles, Greece was able to gain their independence in 1829. Their independence would not have been achievable without the help of their allies, who were mainly the French, Russia, and Great Britain. The philhellenes, or Greece-loving people, in those countries would rally support for Greece, and their revolution was a success because of their support. Greece would not have been able to attain their independence if not for the help of the various influential philhellenes in Great Britain.
Ancient Greek agriculture was the very necessity of the empire. People needed food to work and soldiers needed food to fight, defend, and conquer neighboring empires. Nearly 80% of the Greek population was somehow involved in agricultural practices. In Greece, meat was expensive and available only to the elite. This caused the Greek diet to be based on cereals. The main cereal crops that the Greeks grew were barley, millet, durum wheat, and common wheat. The Greeks did not have access to many vast fertile lands since only 20% of the Greek land was in fit conditions to grow crops (Ancient History Encyclopedia, “Agriculture In Ancient Greece”). People looked to agriculture to keep their civilization running day to day.
Eurozone crisis can be seen as the most important economic problem of the European Union in the history. Because of that crisis the currency union have faced the possibility of separation which is an extremely critical issue not only economically but also politically. Until the subprime crisis which became prominent by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the economic level of the EU members were similar. When the bankruptcy occurred those countries started to differentiate in a very significant way. Total government debt and also problems of banking sector lead many countries to negative GDP growth, high unemployment rates and more importantly social unrest.
Senior, Nello Susan. "Chapters:4,15." The European Union: Economics, Policies and History. London: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
The country of Greece, also known as the Hellenic Republic, is called Hellas or Ellada by natives. This Mediterranean country in southeast Europe is approximately 50, 942 sq. miles and contains about 9,000 miles of coastline which includes the islands of the country. While the total number of islands is not concrete due to discrepancies over the qualifications to count each body of land surrounded by water as an island, the number of inhabited islands is 227. Greece has many interesting geographical features, such as its overall mountainous landscape which makes up 80% of the country, with its highest point, and possibly most famous geographical feature being Mount Olympus which reaches 9,570 ft. (2917 meters). The country of Greece ranges in absolute location with its northern-most occurring at N 41° 44' 33’’ and its southern-most point at N 34° 32' 33” on the island of Cyprus. The Cyprus also hold the most eastward point of the country at E 34° 38' 3” while its most western point is at E 20° 20' 30”. Greece is bordered by the countries of Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey. Likew...
In 2008, the world experienced a tremendous financial crisis which is rooted from the U.S housing market. Moreover, it is considered by many economists as one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression in 1930s. After bringing a huge effect on the U.S economy, the financial crisis expanded to Europe and the rest of the world. It ruined economies, crumble financial corporations and impoverished individual lives. For example, the financial crisis has resulted in the collapse of massive financial institutions such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and AIG. These collapses not only influenced own countries but also international scale. Hence, the intervention of governments by changing and expanding the monetary and fiscal policy or giving bailout is needed in order to eliminate and control enormous effects of the financial crisis.
The Greek crisis is a result of an accumulation of dire policy mistakes. It all began when the previous Greek governments decided not to reveal their debts and deficits in order to fulfill the necessary requirements for the membership of the Eurozone. Furthermore, the government consisted of mass tax evasion as well as corruption. In 2009, the newly elected Greek government decided to expose the real debt and deficits’ figures, which brought much speculative waves regarding the economy. At the moment (since 2010) a number of organizations and countries are providing the Greek state with assistance in regards to alleviating their government debt. International organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the European Governing body, the European Union, are undergoing a set of policies designed to assist Greece in its debt crisis. One of the main supporters of the Greek economy is German...