THE CRISIS IN THE GREEK ECONOMY AND AN ANALYSIS OF THE GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to examine the general structure of the Greek economy, the economic crisis of Greek economy experiencing and global competitiveness of Greek economy. Greece's significant losses in its export market shares in the 1990s and 2000s caused the current account balance and public sector deficit to grow. The increase in the size of the public sector of Greece, the inability of tax revenues to keep pace with public expenditures and a large increase in the level of debt, under these conditions, the need to refinance itself in the 2008 financial crisis led Greece to enter the crisis faster. Under the influence of international pressures, Greece adopted a recovery program urging to cut government spending, reduce tax evasion, overhaul public services, health services and pension systems, and reform labor and goods markets. With the applied economic policies and international financial agreements, the Greek economy was able to partially recover. When the global competitiveness of Greece is examined, according to the World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report, the Greek economy for 2009 ranks 59th among 141 countries in the global competitiveness ranking. The ongoing economic stagnation in the country also adversely affects the global competitiveness. As a result, it is of great importance for countries to keep up with the changing dynamics of global competition in terms of achieving sustainable growth. Despite the great crisis, the Greek economy is trying to overcome this crisis thanks to its strengths. Therefore, the high global competitiveness of countries is of great importance in terms of overcoming unexpected crises.