MAEC Project (TB23) by aloy w0ng

Articles chosen

yanyang1603 — 2018-11-12 07:28:15 UTC

1st: Greek Debt Crisis Explained- EuroNews https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-greece-debt-crisis-3305525
2nd: What the world can learn from the Greek Debt Crisis- Times http://time.com/5381385/what-the-world-can-learn-from-the-greek-debt-crisis/
3rd:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/15/greece-exit-final-international-bailout-debt-catastrophe

Economic Statistic

yanyang1603 — 2018-11-12 07:30:12 UTC

Real GDP (2017):
200.69 billion USD
Real GDP per capita (2017): 18,637.27 USD
Real GDP growth rate (2017): 1.35%

Unemployment rate (2017): 21.49%
Current Business Cycle: Recovery

Average Inflation rate (2017): 1.14%
Consumer Price Index (2017): 106.33

https://www.coface.com/Economic-Studies-and-Country-Risks/Greece
https://www.statista.com/topics/2475/greece/
https://tradingeconomics.com/greece/consumer-price-index-cpi

Resources

yanyang1603 — 2018-11-12 07:32:30 UTC

Land resources: Greece has few natural resources. Its only substantial mineral deposits are of nonferrous metals, notably bauxite. The country also has small deposits of silver ore and marble, which are mined. Fossil fuels, with the exception of lignite, are in short supply. Greece uses these natural resources to produce goods and services in the economy.
Greece is a peninsular and mountainous country located in Southern-Eastern Europe, in the Balkans peninsula. The country has the largest coastline in Europe (13,676km) due to its numerous islands. Greece has a total of 2,000 Greek islands but only 168 are inhabited.
Geography of Greece and its position: The country is washed to the east by the Aegean Sea, to the west by the Ionian and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea. Its prime geographic location is the main factor of Greece's shipping industry.
Mountainous landscapes of Greece: Two thirds of the territory is covered with mountains. The highest mountain peak is at Mount Olympus, at an altitude of 2917m. The country is very rich in natural resources providing petroleum, magnetite, lignite, bauxite, hydropower and marble.
Source: www.greeka.com
https://www.britannica.com/place/Greece/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing
https://www.greeka.com/greece-geography/
Capital resources:
There are roughly 191,000 students enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions in Greece. During recent years the number of graduate students has increased significantly, reaching 42,684 enrolled in graduate programs, and 23,548 enrolled in doctoral programs in the academic year 2015/2016. Greek students have always shown a strong interest in medicine, the sciences, new technologies, economics and law studies, especially in recent years, as new programs are offered and more opportunities exist to pursue studies outside Greece.
Greece's "intellectual capital" will continue to be a strong national asset and investors who are seeking special skills will have a host of competitive advantages when choosing Greece as an investment location.
Source: https://www.enterprisegreece.gov.gr/en/greece-today/why-greece/human-capital
Labour resources:
Labour Force Participation Rate in Greece increased to 52.10 percent in the second quarter of 2018 from 51.60 percent in the first quarter of 2018. Labour Force Participation Rate in Greece averaged 52.43 percent from 1998 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 53.70 percent in the third quarter of 2009 and a record low of 51 percent in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Entrepreneurship resources:
There is an increased number of Greek enterprises embracing innovation in order to survive and become profitable in a difficult economic environment.

Four out of seven businesses (57.7 percent) have introduced some form of innovation in their operation or offerings in the 2014-2016 period, according to data compiled by the National Documentation Centre and the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). That rate is 6.7 percentage points higher than the 51 percent rate in 2012-2014, according to the data released this June.

Almost half of Greek start-ups (47.1 percent) were innovative in their products and procedures in 2014-2016, a rise of 8.4 percentage points from the previous period, according to ELSTAT.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/16/c_137258956.htm

Government intervention with the economy

chuayq08 — 2018-11-12 07:35:55 UTC

Unemployment Benefits:
- The benefit is granted by the labour employment office to employees over 16 years old with unemployment insurance , who were dismissed or whose employment contracts expired, are registered with an employment office and are both willing and capable of working.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1112&langId=en&intPageId=4571

Employment Incentive:
-The state supports employment (among other things) through labour-cost subsidy programmes (through the Greek Manpower Employment Organisation (OAED)), and by taking measures aiming to promote the employment of people under the age of 25 or the long-term unemployed, by reducing labour costs.

Job Creation:
53.02% of these new jobs were part-time positions, this is an increase of 4.44% compared to four years ago, when the total number of part-time new jobs was 48.58% of the total jobs, showing that part-time hiring is on the rise and surpassing full time employment. Greece cannot be relied upon to help recover lost incomes and employment within any reasonable time frame.

GDP Shortcomings:

leewennn1 — 2018-11-12 07:49:34 UTC

The underground economy in Greece https://www.thebalance.com/black-economy-4173517

- Tax evasion currents comprises of at least 20.8% of the country's GDP
- In the underground economy, transactions are layered to disguise money laundering. They find a way to normalise the funds, for example; purchase of real estate. Such that the funds will "blend" into the society.

Advantage
- Introduces jobs for many who lack options in the legitimate economy
eg: when medically trained doctors can evade tax, they are then able to provide low-cost medical help.

Disadvantages
1. Liberal shortages are created by black markets which will force consumers to purchase from them
2. Legitimate companies suffer losses due to being unable to compete with the black market's low costs
3. Tax evasion by black markets accumulates tax which could have contributed to government revenue
4. Workers in the black market are exploited as they're not covered by the legal protection of the government
5. Non-market (black market) transactions are not included, and understates the Nation's GDP

Economic Growth Pointers

aloysiuswjj — 2018-11-12 07:50:37 UTC

Technological Progress
https://www.export.gov/article?id=Greece-Information-and-Communications-Technology
Greece experienced prolonged periods of recession which imposed a heavy negative effect on the technological market. In 2016, Greece's ICT market contracted by 1.9 percent compared to 2.6 and 1.3 percent in 2015 and 2014 respectively.
Telecommunication sector in greece also declined by 1.4 percent to 4.47 billion in 2016, and is continuous reduction is anticipated for upcoming years
-The falling technological progress imposes negative effects on the economy.Invention of new technology, computers and telecommunications are essential for increasing a country's efficiency in production and capital goods. However Greece lack resources for research and development for such technology
Natural Resources
https://www.britannica.com/place/Greece/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing
-Greece has rather little natural resources. It's main substantial minerals are nonferrous metals.
-The agriculture in Greece is hindered by the poor soil with inadequate levels of precipitation. Less than 33 percent of the land are cultivable, with the rest consisting of forest, pasture and scrub.

Capital accumulation
Before 2000's,Greece failed to accumulate physical capital resources such as factories, roads, computers, etc. These are essential for production of goods and services. Hence, current Greece are having difficulties producing goods and services of higher quality.

Political Environment
Law and Order:
https://www.heritage.org/index/country/greece
-In Greece, laws to protect private ownership of property are not strongly enforced but has been improved over the years.
-Greece's independent judiciary system and court system is inefficient at times.
-Corruption is a large problem and officials often engage in corrupt practices.
-Tax enforcement efforts have been more strict in recent years but inadequate as authorities have failed to prosecute taxes.
Infrastructure:
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/03/22/poor-infrastructure-undercuts-greek-tourism/
-One of the biggest problems faced by Greece is that the basic infrastructure such as hotels, airports, roads and ports are now becoming obsolete compared to those of neighboring and competing countries. Greece’s economic crisis leaves little money for improvements. This has heavily affected the tourism sector in Greece as potential tourists are deterred by these low quality infrastructure.

-Labor and employment

-Literacy rate in Greece has increased over the years. It now has an adult literacy rate if 97.13% and a male literacy rate of 98.08% while females are 96.23%