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Can the Euro ever be a global reserve currency? The Role of Politics and Economics



Abstract
This paper will examine whether the euro could surpass the American’s greenback or it is likely to continue to exist as a subordinate currency. In order to do that we need to focus both on economics and politics as they directly or indirectly affect the role of the euro. In this article we will argue that even though the introduction of the euro in 1999 had considerable implications for the global financial, monetary, and economic system, the euro as a medium of exchange, as a store of value, and as a unit of account remains and it will continue to remain the second global reserve currency in the world. Moreover, it could be argued that not only the Eurozone the last ten years suffers from serious deficiencies that negatively affect the euro’s leading role as a global reserve currency but also the political and institutional conditions do not favor such evolution. Under these conditions it could be said that it is unlikely for the euro to overcome the pre-eminence of the US dollar as a global reserve currency.


1. INTRODUCTION

In 1999, the single European currency (euro) was adopted by eleven founder members of the European Union (EU). It was the last step for the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) whose idea was negotiated on the Treaty of Rome, was reinforced by the Delors Report, and was consolidated by the Treaty of the EU in 1991. Despite the remarkable success, some aspects of the project remained unsuccessful (Bladen, 2007). The last European crisis is a clear result of this failure in which many important issues remain questionable. One of them is whether the Euro can ever be a global reserve currency. The answer for this question is not so obvious because each currency’s global role has to be earned (Baldwin and Wyplosz, 2004). The birth of the Euro triggered a new area of theoretical discussion and a new rival among the most prominent scholars was started. The global financial and economic crisis that began in 2007 has been a good opportunity for the euro to overcome the US dollar and as Cohen (2009, p. 742) states ‘the joint currency of the EU could legitimately aspire to join America’s greenback at the peak of global finance’. However, it could be said that this aspiration does not seem to be feasible. Not only because of the current European systemic crisis but clearly because of the systemic flaws and disadvantages that exist within the whole structures of European economic governance and their relation with the American counterpart.  Thus, even though the euro has become a strong regional currency both in Europe and the Mediterranean, it has not challenged the dollar as the world’s leading reserve currency and the European economic governance during the crisis has not strengthen the euro’s international role (Pisani-Ferry and Sapir, 2009). In this context, as Callinicos (2009) believes the global economy may confront a new period of currency uncertainty.

Under these circumstances this essay will examine whether the euro could surpass the American’s greenback or it is likely to continue to exist as a subordinate currency. In order to do that we need to focus both on economics and politics as they directly or indirectly affect the role of the euro. In this respect, this paper will begin by noting some theoretical explanations for what a global reserve currency is, and it will then go on to explain under which conditions a currency can ever be a global reserve currency. The second section of this paper will evaluate the current relationship between the US dollar and the euro in order to answer the question whether the euro can ever be a global reserve currency from economic perspective. In the third section we will focus on the role of politics and how the system of the European economic governance affects the euro’s primacy. In this regard, it is important to say that the current European crisis does not affect the outcome of this paper because the crisis is just the result of euro’s long term inconsistency.  In this article we will argue that even though the introduction of the euro in 1999 had considerable implications for the global financial, monetary, and economic system, the euro as a medium of exchange, as a store of value, and as a unit of account remains and it will continue to remain the second global reserve currency in the world. Moreover, it could be argued that not only the Eurozone the last ten years suffers from serious deficiencies that negatively affect the euro’s leading role as a global reserve currency but also the political and institutional conditions do not favor such evolution. Under these conditions it could be said that it is unlikely for the euro to overcome the pre-eminence of the US dollar as a global reserve currency.


2. THE DEBATE

From the early beginning many scholars agreed that the euro will challenge dollar’s global dominance. However, these early predictions had one main difference, the time period that this could happen. Alogoskoufis and Portes (1997) believed that the full parity could be happened shortly after the introduction of the euro. In this case, the macroeconomic fundamentals could play a significant role. Other believed that the euro could surpass the dollar as a global reserve currency after a long period (Eichengreen, 1998). For Fred Bergsten (1997, p.91) ‘the euro’s rise may have to await a serious policy lapse by the United States’. Furthermore, Chinn and Frankel (2005) predicted that if the thirteen candidates and potential candidate countries join the EMU by 2020, the euro will be able to surpass the US dollar as a global reserve currency. In contrast, other studies argued that this is not likely to happen (Feldstein, 1997; Cohen, 2003). As it is said three years after the global financial and economic crisis the dollar’s role as an international currency not only retained but also was reinforced (Cohen, 2009). After nearly thirteen years it can be said that none of the positive expectations was affirmed.

Before we proceed to the evaluation of whether the euro can be a global reserve currency, a closer explanation of theoretical issues is needed. In general, each currency has three functions; it can be used either as medium of exchange, or as a unit of account, or as a store of value. In addition, the most prominent scholars acknowledge three main dimensions for the assessment and evaluation whether the euro will ever be a global reserve currency. These are the trajectory, the scope, and the domain. According to Cohen (2009) there are two levels of analysis: the private market and the public policy (official sector) in which role of the euro can be analyzed. The analysis of the euro as a reserve currency mainly belongs at the level of public policy under which the euro has two functions as a medium of exchange and as a store of value. However, the euro as a unit of account in its public policy sector is related with exchange rate decisions as an anchor currency. The table 1 below shows the roles of an international currency.

Table 1. Roles of an international currency
Source: Galati and Wooldridge (2009).

A global reserve currency is the currency that it controlled by the monetary public authorities (official sector) for the implementation of three main targets. It can be used to maintain either the exchange rate capabilities, or to mediate in foreign exchange markets, and/or to guarantee wealth (Galati and Wooldridge, 2009). Moreover, there are four main elements that affect the formation of a global reserve currency. Namely, these are the size of the economy and the global share in output and trade (Eichengreen, 1998; Bergsten, 1997), the macroeconomic stability (Hartmann and Issing, 2002) and macroeconomic fundamentals (Alogoskoufis and Portes, 1997), the creation, size and liquidity of foreign exchange financial markets (Eichengreen, 1998; Cooper, 2000) and the network externalities (Rey, 2001). In addition it can be said that the institutional structure is a key factor that influence the creation of a global reserve currency (Eichengreen, 1998). In this sense, not only the rejection of the UK to be a member of the Eurozone reduced euro’s ability as a global reserve currency but also its impediments in the euro bond markets (Portes and Rey, 1998).

Under the aforementioned conditions it could be said that there exist many factors that could undermine the US dollar’s role as a leading global reserve currency. Among of these are the macroeconomic fundamentals, like the net external debt of the US or the EMU’s function (Eichengreen, 2005; Flandreau and Jobst, 2006). As Portes and Rey (1998b, p. 308) state ‘Given the euro’s fundamentals-the EU’s economic size, the liberalization and integration of its financial markets, and confidence in its international creditor status and stability oriented monetary policy- we find that the most likely outcome is that the dollar will have to share the number one position’.  However, as Cohen (2009, p.742) believes ‘the real issue is not price but use: the extent to which the euro is being adopted by actors outside EMU for the standard functions of a medium of exchange, unit of account or store of value’. Under these conditions the US dollar has sustained not only its international role but also its role as a global reserve currency.  It seems that the greater size of dollar financial markets and the inertia in the use of international currencies have helped to this respect[1].

3. The Role of Economics

3.1. Composition of official reserves

As Galati and Wooldridge (2009, p.4) state ‘the euro’s share of reserves is higher today than it was immediately prior to monetary union, but it is still well below the US dollar’s share and below even the share of euro legacy currencies in the 1980s and early 1990s’. This is clear in Figure 1 that shows the currency composition of reserves as a percentage of total allocated foreign currency holdings for the US dollar, the euro legacy currencies until 1999 and the euro until 2006 respectively.

Figure 1. Currency Composition of Reserves.

            US Dollar                            Euro-1999                            Euro-2006
Source: Galati and Wooldridge (2009).



As it can be observed from the figure above the minimum point for the US reserves and deposits was in 1990 with 45% and the maximum point was in 2001 with a share of 70% in global reserves and deposits. It could be said that this supports Cohen’s (2009) argument that during crises the dollar’s role as an international currency is reinforced. Furthermore, it is clear that in 2004, five years after the creation of EMU, there was a significant difference between the euro and the dollar in reserves and deposits, although the dollar has decreased to 66% and 59% of reserves and deposits respectively.

Figure 2. Emerging Markets Official Reserves
Source: Alexandraki 2009.

Moreover, as it can be observed from the figure 2 the vast majority of official reserves in emerging markets are still concentrated in the US dollar (Alexandraki, 2009). In addition, it can also be said that after 1999 the euro’s total share in industrial and developing countries increased but this improvement was geographically limited (Lim, 2006). The aforementioned arguments shows that indeed, the euro not only is by far the second currency in official reserves in developed and in developing world but also that it seems to be only a regional currency.

3.2 Medium of Exchange

In order to analyze whether the euro can ever be a global reserve currency, when it is used as a medium of exchange, one should focus on liquidity conditions in foreign exchange markets and in money and government securities markets. First, it is ambiguous if the liquidity of the euro challenges the dollar’s liquidity in foreign exchange markets. It is clear in Figure 2 that the dollar’s percentage in foreign exchange markets changed only slightly from 1992 to 2007 (Galati and Wooldridge 2009).

Figure 2. Foreign Exchange Markets Turnover.















Source: Galati and Wooldridge (2009)

Moreover, as it can be observed from the Table 2 which shows the currency distribution of foreign exchange market turnover from 1989 to 2007, the dollar is the sovereign currency, and no other currency can overcome its dominance. In this sense, as Cohen (2009) believes not only the euro in contrast with the dollar is not equally distributed across the regions but also the euro is not functions as a vehicle currency globally. Consequently, as he states ‘outside the European region, the use of the currency for trade with EMU economies remains limited; in transactions between third countries, where neither counterparty is an EMU member, it is practically non-existent’ (2009, p.751). It is clear that as one can observe from table 3 which shows the currency shares on foreign exchange market transactions in Asia, the leading dollar’s role is unambiguous as a vehicle currency. As a result, it can be argued that the dominant role of the dollar in world trade cannot be challenged by the euro (Kamps, 2006; Henning, 2009).

Table 2. Currency Distribution of Foreign –Exchange Market Turnover
Source: Bank of International Settlements (2008).



Table 3. Currency Shares on Foreign Exchange Market Transactions
Source: Henning (2009).

Second, as Cohen (2009, p.752) states ‘the securities markets have proved to be, by far, the area of greatest success in the internationalization of the euro’. However, even though the EMU has developed the most significant alternative in government securities market at the end of 2005, as it can be noticed from Table 4, in 2005 the total outstanding stock of securities was 6,4 trillion for the yen, 4,7 trillion for the euro, and 4,2 trillion for the dollar, the magnitude is an inadequate standard for a judgment against the dollar (Galati and Wooldridge, 2009). In addition, ECB’s (2008) annual review of the international role of the euro points out that the euro’s share of international bank loans remains at the same level since 1999 and in the case of international deposits stands lower. The primacy of the dollar in both cases is incomparable. As a result, it can be said that the dollar seems to posses important benefits against the euro like the wider bill market, the greater homogeneity and the higher credit quality of the treasury market, and the huge liquidity in US Treasury market.


Table 4. Government Securities Markets
Source: Galati and Wooldridge (2009)

Third, it can be observed from the table 5 that between 2001 and 2005 the outstanding value of repos increased from 3 to 4,7 trillion and from 3,4 to 6,1 trillion in the euro and dollar market respectively (Galati and Wooldridge, 2009). It is clear that from 2001 to 2005 the dollar’s repos market has dominated the euro’s repos market. The aforementioned denomination against the euro is also observable in the cases of overnight maturity, of tri-party agreements and in collateral transactions.

Table 5. Repos Market
Source: Galati and Wooldridge (2009)

As a result, it can be argued that although the euro has, as a medium of exchange, increased its global role not only in foreign exchange markets but also in government securities and repo markets, it is not clear whether it could challenge the more widespread traded and more liquid US dollar.

3.3 Unit of account

As a unit of account the euro in public sector is used as a monetary anchor. In this context, it is important whether the euro has developed a significant gravitational role. According to the figure 3 it can be noticed that the euro the last decade has increased its global role but it is not again clear if this change could create a new global dominator in reserves. As Galati and Wooldridge (2009, p. 16) state ‘Since 2002, the US dollar has depreciated against many currencies, and so the higher co-movement of currencies with the euro may reflect temporary dollar weakness rather than a long-term increase in the euro’s influence’. Furthermore, from the introduction of the euro it can be counted that nearly forty countries pegged their exchange rates with the euro but it is ambiguous whether this development represent a demonstration of the euro’s greater international role or its regional character (Cohen, 2009). Moreover, it can also be said that the majority of the countries that have aligned their currencies with the euro are smaller as compared with the larger financial economies that have pegged their currencies with the dollar. As a result, as Cohen (2009, p.755) states ‘If any currency is exerting increasing gravitational force, it would appears to be the greenback, not the euro’.

Figure 3. Exchange rate sensitivities with respect to dollar/euro rate changes
Source: Galati and Wooldridge (2009)

3.4 Store of value

As a store of value each currency can be used as a reserve of accumulation because every currency is related to purchasing power and macroeconomic stability. Moreover, Galati and Wooldridge (2009, p.16) state that ‘the store of value function of an international currency is linked to the breadth and depth of financial markets’.

Figure 4. Total Reserves
Source: Galati and Wooldridge (2009)

In this case, as it can be observed from the figure 4 above the magnitude of total reserves increased from 1978 to 2005 more than 7%. In this respect, the monetary authorities like the central banks not only use the total reserves for monetary targets more but also they have increased their importance as a monetary and intervention tool. It is clear that from the table 6 that from 1999 to 2008 the euro share of official foreign exchange reserves increased from 17,9% to 25,5%. The same evolution can be observed also from the figure 5 which shows from 1995-2008 the development of the dollar and the euro as official reserve currency. However, according to the ECB the euro’s share of global reserves is quite misleading because in constant exchange rates its share decreased (ECB, 2008). Indeed, it can be argued that the euro’s trajectory after its fast start has remained stable (Cohen, 2009).

Furthermore, it can be argued that the introduction of the euro in 1999 created the second largest market after the US market in the world in terms of the euro securities markets and in credit quality and it has been noticed that in liquidity terms the pre-eminence of the US dollar is now declining (Galati and Wooldridge, 2009). Moreover, in terms of international bonds and notes it can be observed a substantial rise in the use of the euro (Cohen, 2009). However, as Cooper (2000) states the attractiveness of the US dollar as a reserve currency derived from the existence of a deeper and more liquid market in US treasury securities and in particular in treasury bills compared with euro markets. In this sense, this seems to become the core problem not only for the euro but also for the Eurozone. As Cohen (2008, p.44) argues ‘the euro is condemned to remain at a disadvantage vis-à-vis the dollar as long as EMU is unable to offer a universal financial instrument that can match the US treasury bill for international investor liquidity and convenience’.

Table 6. Dollar and Euro Shares of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves
Source: Cohen (2009)

Figure 5. The Dollar and the Euro as Official Reserve Currency
Source: Mayer (2009).



4. THE ROLE OF POLITICS


In the case of political considerations one could say that there are many structural limitations and deficiencies that negatively influence the euro’s role as a global reserve currency. Even though it can be argued that in economic output and trade the EU is in many cases in a better position than the US[2], the EU today faces three main substantial imbalances on trade, on productivity and on budget deficit that affect its sustainability. Moreover, in the institutional domain, as Eichengreen (1998) argued, the institutional structure and the lack of supervisory and regulatory authority of the ECB are likely to have a negative impact on the euro’s prospects as a global reserve currency.  According to him, even the US dollar, during the conflict period among the sterling and the dollar, was not able to capture the primacy from the sterling because of the initial absent of the Federal Reserve.


As Benjamin Cohen (2003) has clearly observed from the early beginning, the EMU’s ambiguous governance structure reveals uncertainties and confusion for its prospect primacy. It could be said that the aforementioned deficit is the most prominent of all. According to him the EU needs to solve three main issues on the governance of the ECB, the problem of the exchange rate policy, and the uncertainty about the political authority responsible for macroeconomic issues in the Eurozone. Under these conditions the Eurozone seems to be an artificial creation. In this sense, Cohen (2008, p.38) states that ‘the euro is a currency without a country-the product of an interstate agreement, not the expression of a single sovereign power’. In addition, McNamara and Meunier (2002, p. 850) believe that ‘as long as no single voice has the political authority to speak on behalf of the euro area, as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury does for the American currency, the pre-eminence of the US in the international monetary matters, as in other realms, is likely to remain unchallenged’. For Cohen (2009, p.744) ‘the euro’s handicaps includes troubling ambiguities in EMU’s governance structure-difficult to avoid when a single currency is jointly managed by more than one sovereign state-as well as a strong anti-bias built into the bloc’s provisions for monetary and fiscal policy’. In this case, it can be said that the permanent limitations of the euro appear to have weighted on EMU’s legitimacy and there is a need for other significant mechanisms of legitimization different than that of economic fundamentals[3] (Deroose, Hodson and Kuhlmann, 2007). For Hodson (2009) the EU has failed to produce a European vanguard because the decision-making lies on the national level. 


It is also clear that even today two years after the Greek financial crisis the European Union’s political leaders seem unable to solve the crisis because of the weak foundations and architecture of the Economic and Monetary Union. The EMU is a unique example of transnational economic and political cooperation, but it is full of flaws and problems. From its early beginnings the political leaders accepted in many countries that in fact couldn’t be competitive within the Eurozone. There are two important economic laws that affect their sustainability negatively. The first law is the transformation of comparative advantage to absolute advantage within the Eurozone. This means that within the Euroland only the most competitive enterprises can survive. Thus, the states stand unable to help the industries and the entrepreneurs. The second law argues that it is impossible to have a symmetric and balanced economic growth within the whole area of the Eurozone. In this way, we can explain the occurrence of two major different areas of economic growth within the EU, namely the core countries and the peripheral countries. Under these conditions, many countries of the European periphery that have been unable to remain competitive in the Eurozone joined the EU only because of political priorities and decisions. These actions are also highly responsible for the euro’s inability to surpass the US dollar.
Moreover, the system of European economic governance is not a well-rounded system that can help all its diverse countries in remaining competitive. The European Central Bank (ECB), although it is a highly credible institution, does not function as the American Federal Reserve. Thus, because the European economic integration is uneven, when the ECB takes a monetary decision, e.g. changing the interest rates or the money supply, the outcome of this decision does not have the same effect on all European countries. In this regard, the ECB cannot help Greece or countries similar to Greece. Furthermore, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) has also many omissions and we can’t forget that France and Germany were the first two countries that failed to comply with its targets. Furthermore, the EMU suffers from asymmetric and adverse economic shocks, inflexible labour markets, rigid wages, centralization of economic activity to specific areas, incomplete trade integration, and uncoordinated monetary and fiscal policies. Together with its major institutional weaknesses and the fact that a European political union is not regarded as feasible and the European sense of solidarity is inexistent, the result is ruinous both for the European project and for its member states. In fact, Greece and many other largely peripheral countries remain trapped within the Eurozone. They cannot use either their monetary or fiscal policies to regain their competitive advantage. This is also an important lesson that the New Member States (NMS) must learn. Living within the Eurozone is not as simple as it looks. Accordingly, the European Economic Governance is not only responsible for the Greek crisis but also for the euro’s inability to suppress the US dollar as the global reserve currency.
Furthermore, it can be said that the EU’s political influence is considerably decreased beyond its neighborhood (Posen, 2008). As Posen (2006, p. 11) argues ‘recent developments obscure the reality that the euro is at a temporary peak of influence, and the dollar will continue to benefit from the geopolitical sources of its global role which the euro cannot yet or soon, if ever, match’. In this context, Momani (2008) believes that even though it can be found a global currency as an alternative to dollar, no state can be found to replace the US security umbrella. Adam Posen (2009, p.99) clearly points out that ‘because the euro area is not offering to the states behind potentially associated currencies a broader range of security relationships in general, it will not attract as many adherents as the economic factors would seem to suggest would come’.

As a result, it can be said that not only the euro has significant institutional and political obstacles to overcome but also it is almost unlikely for the EU to defeat the preeminence of the US in political affairs. It seems that it is unlikely for the euro to overcome the dollar’s primacy.  As Mundell (1993, p.10) states ‘Great powers have great currencies’ and in this case in contrast to the US neither the EU’s currency nor its global political influence is significant. In this context, Frieden (1998, p.38) was right for his argument that ‘political realities of today’s EU will define the future of the euro’.




5. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is clear from the aforementioned analysis that the euro’s global leading role is vague. The euro not only as medium of exchange, as a store of value, and as a unit of account has an unambiguous international position, but also it suffers from important institutional and political deficiencies and limitations that influence its role negatively. In this sense, it could be said that it is very difficult for the euro to overcome the dollar’s dominance as a global reserve currency. The euro could be the second global reserve currency but not the leading currency. Even though Eichengreen (2009) believes that the euro is the only reasonably major opponent, it could be said that the decision for a currency to become a global reserve currency is not influenced only from economic but also from political and institutional factors. However, it can also be said that as Eichengreen (2009, p.67) argues  the dollar ‘it will not be as dominant as in the past, for the same reasons that the United states will not be as dominant economically as it once was’. In this case, the euro will be able to earn only a small part of the dollar’s dominance but not the primacy. It could be said, that many other political and economic factors could affect the future not only for the euro but also for the dollar. In this context, one could focus on the role of the China as the main catalytic factor for the road ahead (Bowles and Wang, 2008).




















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[1] According to the Cohen (2003) the euro does not provide significant advantages over the dollar in  order to overcome inertia.
[2] See for example Bergsten (1997).
[3] Hodson (2009) provides an overview of the challenges that EMU confronts. 

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Η ελληνική οικονομική κρίση και τρόποι αντιμετώπισης της.

Είναι προφανές ότι σήμερα ζούμε όχι μέσα σε ένα μονοπολικό, ή διπολικό ή πολυπολικό παγκόσμιο σύστημα αλλά μέσα σε ένα περιβάλλον όπου, κυρίως στον χρηματοοικονομικό τομέα, υπάρχει μια μοναδική άμεση αλληλεπίδραση εντατικότατα και αλληλεξάρτηση. Πολλοί έχουν υποστηρίξει ότι οι κυριότερες αιτίες της τελευταίας διεθνούς οικονομικής κρίσης είναι η έλλειψη συνεργασίας μεταξύ των κρατών, η έλλειψη παγκόσμιων ρυθμιστικών πλαισίων, αρχών και οργάνων καθώς και η μεγάλη οικονομική ανισότητα που παρατηρείται μεταξύ του αναπτυσσόμενου και του ανεπτυγμένου κόσμου. Πολλά θα μπορούσαν να ειπωθούν για τα εγγενή μειονεκτήματα-χαρακτηριστικά του σημερινού παγκόσμιου καπιταλιστικού χρηματοοικονομικού συστήματος όμως δεν θα γίνουν μέρος αυτής της εργασίας. Όπως δεν θα γίνει λόγος για τον ρόλο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και των διεθνών σχέσεων για την έξοδο από την κρίση. Αντί αυτού θα προσπαθήσουμε να δείξουμε κάτω από ποιες συνθήκες η ελληνική πολιτική μπορεί να ξεπεράσει την δυσμενή οικονομική θέση που βρίσ

Η κρίση της Ελληνικής πολιτείας

Σε προηγούμενα άρθρα μου σε αυτόν εδώ τον χώρο είχα τονίσει πως η Ελληνική πολιτεία σήμερα όσο ποτέ άλλοτε στο παρελθόν είναι διχασμένη. Εξαιτίας όλων αυτών των διαδικασιών-μετασχηματισμών που συμβαίνουν στο εγχώριο, ευρωπαϊκό και παγκόσμιο πλαίσιο έχει πληγεί η εμπιστοσύνη των Ελλήνων απέναντι στην δημοκρατία και στον ρόλο που θα πρέπει να διαδραματίζει η πολιτική. Είχα επίσης τονίσει πως παρόλη την απογοήτευση ο δρόμος για την ελληνική πολιτεία είναι ένας. Ο δύσκολός δρόμος που θα μας κρατά μέσα στην ευρωπαϊκή οικογένεια και θα μας δώσει τις προϋποθέσεις να αναπτύξουμε το ελληνικό καπιταλιστικό σύστημα προωθώντας τις επενδύσεις, την επιχειρηματικότητα και την ιδιωτική πρωτοβουλία. Είναι όμως γεγονός πως οι κύριες αιτίες, η ουσία του ελληνικού προβλήματος, βρίσκεται πέρα από την οικονομική αποτελεσματικότητα. Η ελληνική χρηματοοικονομική κρίση έχει μια πολιτική πλευρά η οποία δεν μπορεί να παραβλεφθεί και η οποία είναι τελείως διαφορετική από τα άλλα ευρωπαϊκά κράτη. Αυτό είναι

Τα Βαθύτερα Αίτια της Ελληνικής Οικονομικής Κρίσης

To άρθρο αυτό έχει αρχικά δημοσιευτεί στο Sklias, P. and Maris, G. (2013) The Political Dimension of the Greek Financial Crisis, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 144-164.  Το λίνκ του άρθρου είναι το  http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15705854.2012.732392#.Uz_p4Kh_uSo  Για να αναφέρετε αυτό το άρθρο στη βιβλιογραφία σας παρακαλώ χρησιμοποιείστε είτε την παραπάνω αναφορά είτε το  Σκλιάς, Π., Ρουκανάς, Σ. και Μαρής, Γ. (2012) Η Πολιτική των Διεθνών και Ευρωπαϊκών Οικονομικών Σχέσεων, Εκδόσεις Παπαζήση, Αθήνα. καθώς αυτό ειναι το 9ο κεφάλαιο του βιβλίου. Τα Βαθύτερα Αίτια της Ελληνικής Οικονομικής Κρίσης 1. Εισαγωγή Πρόσφατα πολλοί ερευνητές προσπάθησαν να αναλύσουν τις βασικές αιτίες της ελληνικής οικονομικής κρίσης. Στην πλειοψηφία αυτών των αναλύσεων τους, εστίασαν σε μια σειρά από οικονομικούς συντελεστές, οι οποίοι τονίστηκαν ως τα βασικά αίτια του προβλήματος. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, θεωρήθηκε πως τα υψηλά δημόσια ελλείμματα, η