The great economic crisis in Greece: A journey to discover the Greek economic crisis that started in 2008 and alarmed the world. Its causes and implications

By Stefano Calicchio

Why did Greece enter an economic crisis in 2008? What caused one of the biggest economic crises the western world has ever had to face? What possibilities and hopes are left for Greek citizens?
The Greek economy has been in deep crisis since 2008, with serious consequences for its citizens. In a short time, the situation deteriorated so much that the country became a systemic risk for the global economy. As a result, the population experienced drastic interventions and heavy cuts in many sectors, including health, welfare and pensions.
On 19 August 2011, a leading member of the Greek government branded many of the previously decided austerity measures as unnecessary. In the meantime, the population has had to face unprecedented restrictive impositions, stifled by wage cuts and unsustainable tax increases.
In this short essay we will address the crisis in Greece from the bottom up, explaining what the causes of the crisis are and what consequences the population has had to suffer. We will study the reasons that caused the crisis in Greece and we will explain what initiatives other countries have used to remedy similar difficult situations and to look to the future again with more hope and serenity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stefano Calicchio
• Release date: Mar 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9791220278515

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Introduction

Imagine an economy belonging to the group of western countries, which has been growing strongly since the post-war period and has been the protagonist of a real economic miracle since the 1960s. Imagine a nation that has experienced an economic growth rate of 7% per year for almost three decades.

Think of a country where the service industry has developed extensively and now accounts for 15% of total annual GDP.

If all this is still not enough, imagine a country with the world's largest merchant fleet in terms of tonnage. A country that only a few years ago, in 2004, emphatically and successfully hosted the world's most important sporting event: the Olympics.

Which country are we talking about? The question is far from rhetorical, because just a few years later this country, Greece, is on its knees. The crisis that erupted in the years 2008 - 2009 literally overwhelmed the Greek economy, creating damage and deep financial devastation.

In Greece, whole sectors and economic districts were destroyed with lightning speed, unemployment became rampant and the state had to cut back heavily on the public welfare system, which affected a large part of the population.

How could this happen? Whose fault is it? What are the concrete consequences for the Greek economy? When one reflects on the speed with which the Greek economy spiralled, one really finds it hard to accept what has happened.

In the minds of ordinary people there are many questions about the crisis in Greece that are waiting to be answered. In many European countries with similar national debt crises (Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland to name a few) the fear that something very similar could happen remains strong and contributes to considerable apprehension.

This guide is designed to explain in simple terms how the disaster of the economic crisis in Greece happened and what we can learn from it.

We will thus shed light on some numbers and economic fundamentals that characterise the Greek situation, without pretending to put forward solutions or explain every