Abstract
The second chapter presents a comprehensive discussion of the key factors of Greek economic development, examining the fundamental forces of growth. We investigate whether this growth is due, and to what extent, to the increase of revenues (increased volume), the improvement of their productivity (improved quality) or both and introduce readers to the concept of competitiveness. We examine how the total product is allocated to wages and profits, as well as to consumption and investment, while commenting on the importance of each economic sector in the production process. We also present the concepts of the parallel economy, the parallel financial system and the characteristics of entrepreneurship.
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Notes
- 1.
OECD (2004) Understanding Economic Growth.
- 2.
The index does not include the construction of houses.
- 3.
See also Giannitsis (2008), p. 125.
- 4.
NEER: Nominal Effective Exchange Rate.
- 5.
REER: Real Effective Exchange Rate.
- 6.
The WEF (World Economic Forum), headquartered in Switzerland, has published since 1979 annual reports for 131 countries dedicated to countries’ competitiveness, through which it attempts to trace the factors that allow the national economies to achieve rapid development and increased levels of prosperity.
The IMD, headquartered in Lausanne (Switzerland), has published annually since 1989 the Yearbook of International Competitiveness, aiming to assess the overall competitiveness of over 60 countries in the world.
- 7.
OECD Vol. 2009/15 July 2009, p. 60 estimates the equivalent measure to 25%.
- 8.
The demand for money reserves (otherwise known as money demand) refers to the quantity of money that individuals retain. Retaining money results in the resignation from the exchange rate that certain financial products offer (e.g., bonds, deposits). Thus, the percentage change of money demand, which is caused by a percentage change in interest rates (elasticity), is negative. The sensitivity degree of money demand on exchange rate decreases because of the increased need for money that transactions in the underground economy require.
- 9.
The term “breaking” of post-dated checks refers to the borrowing of money that takes place with the relinquishment, on the part of the borrower, of a check that registers an issue date after the actual date of issuance as a form of guarantee to the lender. Usually, the height of this loan is a percentage of the check’s value from about 90% (maximum), and it keeps decreasing as the precarity of the issuer and of the underwriter of the check increases.
- 10.
Source: Clearing Office, Interbanking System, L. Stergiou, Kathimerini (22/2/2009).
- 11.
Tiresias is an inter banking company that processes data that reflect the economic behaviour of individuals and companies as well as data that contribute to the prevention of fraud in financial transactions. The distributed data contribute to the protection of credit, the reduction of credit risk and the improvement of financial transactions, to the benefit of individuals and the banking system in general.
- 12.
ICAP Group is one of the most successful regional Business Services Groups in Southeastern Europe. It provides a wide range of services grouped in the following six business practices: Business Information, Business Directories, Management Consultants, Contact Center, HR Outsourcing, and Receivables Management.
- 13.
IMF (2006) World Economic Outlook, Financial Systems and Economic Cycles.
- 14.
National Bank of Greece (2010) Unleashing Greece’s medium-term growth potential.
- 15.
The FEIR (IOBE) is the agency responsible for the compilation of the specific report of GEM for Greece.
- 16.
IOBE (2008) Entrepreneurship in Greece, 2007–2008.
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Petrakis, P. (2012). The Pre-Crisis Growth of the Greek Economy. In: The Greek Economy and the Crisis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21175-1_3
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