The Economy of Greece
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This is Greece, a fantastic European Mediterranian nation that has been famed in recent years for its not so fantastic economy.
Greece in the 21st century looks like many other middle-of-the-road developed economies, it has had and still does have a lot of things going for it, it has a huge tourism industry, one of the largest per capita in the world, and its exotic islands and ancient landmarks still attract millions every year bringing with them all those wonderful tourist dollars. In this video, we explore how a once healthy nation got everything so wrong.
📚 Want to learn more about the economy of Greece? We recommend reading "The Last Bluff: How Greece came face-to-face with financial catastrophe & the secret plan for its euro exit", by Viktoria Dendrinou and Eleni Varvitsioti 👉 amzn.to/37h6G5g (as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases)
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#Greece #Economics #Austerity
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Sources & Citations -
Κάτσιος, Σ., 2015. The shadow economy and corruption in Greece. South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics
Fakiolas, R., 2000. Migration and unregistered labour in the Greek economy. In Eldorado or fortress? Migration in southern Europe
Petrakis, P., 2012. The Greek Economy and the Crisis. In The Greek Economy and the Crisis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Provopoulos, G.A., 2014. The Greek economy and banking system: recent developments and the way forward. Journal of Macroeconomics
Baltas, N.C., 2013. The Greek financial crisis and the outlook of the Greek economy. The Journal of Economic Asymmetries
Rogers, C. and Vasilopoulou, S., 2012. Making sense of Greek austerity. The Political Quarterly
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I'm not an economist but any lay person can see that the main problem is that Greece did not want to ditch the Euro. That's why they needed austerity. Lots of countries have economic crises but most of them (I mean not Argentina lol) quickly recover... why? because they have their own currency, free to devalue and become competitive again. But idiot greeks (at least the ones you see one TV being asked about the Euro) want to keep the Euro... what kind of masochism is that? same goes with the Scots and their independence ambitions - they want to become "independent" but keep the pound? huh?... that's not independence.
Greece became a currency user and gave up its sovereign currency issuing powers.
Greece accually produces some of the best fruits in the world, soil is very good and a huge variety of plants grow on it...
Most of the statements are correct, but: 1. Natural resources exists in Greece, such as aluminum, coal, gold, nickel, and oil, but we don't extract them due to environmental and leftist type of protests 2. We have agriculture and livestock,we can be self-sufficient, only islands have problems because of the dry soil (rock, dry soil as you mention in the video, the mainland Greece has enough farming for feeding and livestock for meat and dairy). 3. Also, another thing that is not mentioned, is that in the mainland we have ski resorts during the winter, so we can have tourism during summer at the beaches and during winter at the mountains.
@Ozymandias Nullifidian what do you think you know...
This dude single handedly keeps the stock footage industry alive
Half as Interesting: Yeah.... Right
Wendover...
And here I am listening to him as I work out
@Dm Narayan Swamy Swamy thank you for your insight
Is that a compliment or an Insult?
Greece: finally starting to leave the rock bottom... Coronavirus: Hey! there you are!
Yeah I'm not looking forward to how the world/european economy is going to look like when everyone comes out of quarantine, but can't be helped.
@@DeHerg Greece actually quarantined early. They have very few deaths
@@seanmcmanus2777 Yes the crisis management is great but the economy will get a very huge hit from that missing tourist money that makes up around 20% of the Greek GDP. My hope is this situation will force the Greek gov to continue to make Greece more interesting for start ups and foreign investment so the economy stops relying on tourism so much.
Sean McManus Greece and Italy were two of the first countries to impose quarantine in Europe, coincidently, they are also going to be the two countries that will suffer the most from it. You see, Greece and Italy are economies that are heavily reliant on tourism, trade and manufacturing, sectors that will be hit very hard by global lockdowns. Tourism is almost inconceivable during these times, trade is limited, and manufacturing is blocked by confinement. Whereas certain economies such as Germany, France and the Netherlands rely on jobs that can be operated from home (mostly tech jobs) thus limiting the effects of lockdown, the Greek and Italian economies are not. A lot of people are not able to work from home in these countries in these times, so their economy will take a turn for the worst, as they are, at best, temporarily useless (economically speaking) and unemployable. A second factor to consider is the companies that employ these individuals. France, for example, is a country that is notorious for having big companies employ the majority of its citizens (for various reasons). Now these companies are unlikely to go down during the lockdown times, so when confinement is over, most citizens will still be employed. France is also a leftist socialist democracy and economy, where the state, partly owns and controls most of the companies in the country. In crisis times this is very useful, as the state will be able to force the big companies to keep their workers and avoid massive unemployment. It will do so by forcing the companies to take big losses and to pay them back themselves (more or less). As of today, the French state injected around 400billion euros since the start of the lockdown, and around 80% of workers are being partly payed by the state. This is why France will be able to economically tackle the crisis. Now Greece and Italy on the other hand, are more reliant on small locally based companies that will be very vulnerable during the crisis. The state will not be able to govern as efficiently as in France, and a lot of small, difficultly saveable companies will sadly go south, and cause mass unemployment and a spike in poverty. Because of this, the EU is undergoing a political crisis, as poorer southern countries that are harder hit are asking for financial help from the EU. But richer northern states such as Germany and the Netherlands are categorically refusing to help them, stating that it is their fault for having fragile economies, causing a real South/North conflict. That was until, crucially for the Southern states, several more neutral countries started heavily backing them, most notably France. The argument the French held was that, as an economical union, the EU needed solidarity, and that especially during these times of crisis, it was essential to all help each other out, especially when people’s lives are at stake, or the Union could collapse (Macron made a very interesting interview with the FT about this, please do watch it). With these interventions, the climate calmed down and now, Germany is ready to accept a Union wide plan that would be more beneficial to the southern economies. This is important because A) it means that the Union has solidarity and B) it means that the fragile Greek economy could be supported by much bigger and stable economies like the German or French one. Whether you see this as positive or negative thing is personal (and ressembles the Brexit debate) but overall it is important for smaller economies (or fragile ones) to know that they will be helped, as it would be very complicated for them to survive otherwise. If you read all of this, thanks, please do note it was heavily simplified, but feel free to share what you know as well, it is important to share knowledge, especially in these times of confusion.
@@user-tt2ft5bl4z Our PM had engaged in talks with KSA and UAE,but that was before the virus even spread out of China
Greece: *suffering* Historians: Has Zeus been cheating on Hera again?
Underrated comment hahahahaha
More like their modern religion is.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@utkarshg.bharti9714 what
@@pablogomesoliveira2677 what
Tax dodging is still the national past time . The concierge at my hotel is always delighted when I tell him I dont need a receipt
My favorite is the classic "card reader is broken" even though it looks brand new lol.
And they still only pay Greek tax rates. Try Scandinavia with 25% VAT, average 50% income tax with a margin close to 60% and luxury tax on good, for example a Porsche Cayenne will cost you additional 150% luxury tax.
My favourite is the fact they leave their buildings "unfinished" simply by having rebar sticking out of the roof as if they are adding another story. I believe a certain tax does not apply to buildings under construction.
@@coffelt683 BTW there is a law that all stores are obliged to accept cards and refusing to do so is illegal.
@@todortodorov940 This comparison actually explains why tax evasion is so incentivized in Greece. Tax rates are relatively close with Scandinavian countries (both categorized as high) all while salary for workers are 4-5 times lower. (60hr/week for 550€ after tax.) Taxation also influences living expenses such as food, rent etc. It's almost impossible to raise children in these conditions as a law abiding citizen.
As a Greek: *"i used to rule the world, seas would rise when i gave the word"* *"now in the morning i sleep alone, sweep the streets i used to own"*
Ε ΌΧΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΔΏ ΡΕ ΜΑΛΑΚΑ. ΤΟ 9GAG ΔΕ ΣΟΥ ΦΤΆΝΕΙ?
@Ibbs 69 you mean jksadjkljlkasfjlkasdjkldsjlk ???
Dude you are the same guy that posted on 9gag years ago , am i right ? I got out of that shit but i remember you being everywhere
@Ibbs 69 of retards , ZULUL
@@A.Froster yep. and i'm still there i browse 9gag while watching yt
I will say it is 95% accurate. But never forget that a whole generation, does not even know what living large is.
Very very true
My generation :(
The truth is always hidden. Some people lived large, but who is suffering now? The pensioners of course. Austerity was never the answer. Austerity is never a tool to use on the weak. The eurozone crisis was a crisis of German and french banks just as much as of the Greek economy, lest we forget. The ECB and EU left the weak to suffer so that the banks could be rescued at no political cost. This is not sustainable and major reform is needed if we are to see the EU become sustainable (which, at the moment, despite of what anyone may say, it is not)
@Ιωαννης 15 to google ine filos su bro
Έλληνας στα 15
Greece is one of the most beautiful nations in the world, and everyone should visit it at least once in their life. We Italians love to sometime spend our summer in Greece, we're brothers🇮🇹❤🇬🇷
🇬🇷🇮🇹
Una faccia una razza.
@Ozymandias Heliogabal Nullifidian I think you mean, beautiful mountains, lakes, seas, islands, beaches, bitches, etc...
@Ozymandias Heliogabal Nullifidian I think you mean spain
Brothers in bankruptcy...
Love to Greece from Bangladesh, may your economy flourish. You have so much potential.
congrats, you've single handedly saved Greece's debt crisis
At this point, Bangladesh is going to surpass those Greeks.
EE: " Greece: How not to run an economy" Venezuela: Am I a joke to you?
How not to let leftist politicians rule your country!
Justice Warrior Its not a matter of leftism. Both Venezuela and Norway are leftist countries with oil reserves. Venezuela was simply irresponsible with the oil money, while Norway was not.
dont forget the Venezuela is suffering the effects of sanctions
Justice Warrior im guessing you’re an American?
Governments around the world, "That's crazy talk!!!"
"Brain drain" is also a major problem in the balkans. Countries like Bosnia or Serbia are expected to half their populations until 2050. Just try to imagine the economic effects of that
Simplified Crypto half their population? How will that happen
Yeah Balkans love to be slaves for Germany.
Brain Drain means everyone leave the country cause high taxes to live in another country
Never thought there was much brain down there to begin with
That would actually be good for bosnia to decrease their population. But in terms of "brain drain" the general IQ of the population would also needs to be lower. So in short Population decrease doesn't mean to be brain drain. If the population decreases but average IQ rise instead it would be beneficial for bosnia.
Congrats from a Greek. I can't even comprehend how could someone produce such a spot-on analysis without having lived here for some years. Kudos!
May God bless Greece, I’m gonna be traveling to Greece soon, I’m Armenian and I love Greece so much ❤️
❤️
Lilly, if your sincere visit Armenia 1st, they need your money even more. But we know you actuall living Armenia anyways :(
@@sufibra1051 Just shut up
@@jimboonie9885 , WHO PLUGGED YOU IN FOOL,YOU SHUT UP
So how was your trip to here ?
MORAL OFTHE STORY: Save during the summer for the rainy days. Be like the ant and not the grasshopper.
ALTERNATIVE MORAL: Winter is coming.
Ironically, Aesop wrote that moral, and he was a Greek.
keynesian economics
@Thomas Headley The USA is the newest countries among the superpowers and even regional powers. It will not last, and due to the current Trillion dollar deficits during good times it will fall hard next recession. If you trusted Trump when he said he will "fix the debt" I have bad news for you.
..and being from Greece, I tell you my man most people here still look to live/be like the grasshopper........
As a greek teenager who has grown in the crisis, i aggre with everything in the video and i believe you did a great job, even thought you should have said more(but you couldn't, becauce the video would be an hour long). For example, the puplic sector had significantly grown before the crisis, thanks in part due to ρουσφέτια( basically polititians promising jobs in the public sector during election time in exchance for votes) And these workers were usually not really productive. Howerer, this is a great video and gives some valuable insight on what happend in my country.
hopefully things will get better for y'all
How big of an issue is corruption in Greece? Corruption has been the bane of the Med nations for decades
Cut out of the Video, anti toursim after the crash - visited 3 times last time may (2006-)2010. Never want to again after that. Unwelcomed, cussed at(from random peps to personal) and generally not nice exp. Hope its better today.
@@jonass9347 I went in 2019 and it was great
@@seriousbees good to know, neither i wanted to offend, back than was a little rough. Anti France, German and stuff in media, Merkel with Hitler's mustache if i remember corect. But glad to hear! The country is beautiful.
Can you do a Portuguese economy? It'd be interesting to see how things have played out compared to Greece given that they were both in the same situation with similar GDPs and population
Didn't China bail them out
@@seanmcmanus2777 Youre mad! Never lol. We are still in serious debt. We are improving but it has nothing to do with china, FORTUNATELY. China is more interested in Africa
Portugal is very different. Portugal had pretty decent economic structure, which greece didnt.
@@msdm83 🤣🤣
Iam looking forward to visit greece when corona end love greece from egypt 🇪🇬 ❤🇬🇷
❤❤❤
Greece: I’m finally growing again :D Coronavirus: I’m about to end this nations whole growth...
fucking true
@@xxironhidexx4255 what? theres literally 3 cases of coronavirus how does that stump the nations growth lmao
@@Chill-yv4gg 7 right now just wait 2-3 months
The virus is disrupting economy globally, not just Greece. But if your economy already vulnerable, it gonna hit really hard there
@@Chill-yv4gg bet you regret saying that now
Can't wait for the episode on Italy, I'm curious as to how we are staying afloat, if we even are
The Penguin You were just barely going to make it until the virus came.
As a Spaniard I need to say hi! Spain/Italy will need reforms in the next few years or we will face a huge recesion with our unemployment, an old population, corruption...
@@joaquincimas500 I know man, ours are nations of old people sadly, young like me either stay here and suffer from a lack of jobs and heavy taxation to pay the pensions of the many retired or go elsewhere and deprive our homeland of our education and skills. This breaks my heart but, as much as I love my country, I can't live in a backwards society skeptic of young people.
@Death Omen 🙄
@Death Omen Yeah lol we're sinking too I forgot
You know you've been in better shape when the analogy for your economy is Joey from Friends, haha.
"In order to destroy Democracy we must destroy the roots of Democracy."
No need for that, it's already been destroyed in most of the world.
@@starsoffyre how exactly? And don’t scream commie
@@ssik9460 What about American Neo-Colonialism, and China's f*ked up diplomacy.
@@ipadair7345 good point
@@ipadair7345 Roots of democracy is common voters who vote for good people and demand good, reliable service to the country, and vote for someone else if such expectations are not delivered. Today, people vote for exciting promises and reward pompous speeches.
Ross as Germany is oddly fitting for his character
David Schwimmer is from Germany lol
@@anastsi6767 From New York
@@anastsi6767 : German origin American from New York.
@@FinnProp : German origin American
I am from Greece, I am one of the 8% of its population that was forced to move out in the last 8 years (most of that percentage comes from educated people around 20-30 years old) Greece prosperity is amazing and believe me, with all of its tourism,agriculture and innovative industries, it should have never fallen into its current state. Our country is ruled by mafia for the last 40 years and for personal gain they destroyed our agriculture and industrial theme and gain control of all the tourism income. Coruption is 10 times bigger than what the media tells you it is. The whole nation is working for these mafia families. But why we are still voting the same mafia families, you ask. Let me explain: The mafia consists of 4-5% of the population. They brided another 3% by giving them positions like judges, generals of police and army and other high paying and powerful jobs. In addition, they hired 35% of the population from young age to work on the public sector, rendering them useless and always in a state of fear that if they lose their job, they will never be able to be useful anywhere else (even when their salary dropped from 2k euro net to 650 euro net, they complaint but they are still supporting them with their vote due to fear of change and risking to lose their jobs). From all of the mentioned above, that will be at the very least 38% of the total voters, add another 3-4% from people that have small brain or are getting advantage of the corruptioness, 42%. If you have notice, 45-55% of the Greek voters are refussing to vote because (a) the odds are so much against them (b) there used to be a rule that if the 50% will not vote the whole system needs to take drastic changes but they dismissed that rule when that event took place, (c) they will find voters from abroad by giving citizenship to people who had never lived in Greece or lived there for 1-2 months only. So yes, these mafia families will always continue to get 85% of the votes from the people who actually goes to votes, and if they see a change, they will change the rules again. A very few events to better understand the corruption in Greece: - The static website of the government with expected cost of 650 euro, was bought with our taxes for 1.5 milions - The best friend of our leader Mitsotakis, was caught with a ship filled with tones of cocaine. Three months ago, the last witness was murdered. - Banks are selling loans with undefined period of payout. Uneducated people, like my dad, were paying the loans for decades, giving away three times the money that they received, until they realised the amount was not decreasing. That way, not only the banks are getting more money, but they also can claim money from the EU by saying they are reaching bankrupty, in addition to claim even more by our taxes + by selling the properties that have already been repaid. Banks are earning 4 times the expected income that way and keep the ability to continue complain - A man named Loverdos Stelakatos Christos sued Andromeda Group for poisoning fishes and people alike and exterminating many endagered species of the sea. The judges named him criminal for uncovering the truth, punished him for 10 years of prison and left the company unharmed. That's very very very few examples of our current state. Don't let media trick you, Greece is more corrupted than what is portaited to be right now.
Άπειρο respect είπες όλη την αλήθεια
I was all done by outside people --- the snakes of human life ------ exactly like South Africa was destroyed ----- and many others
One of these days the snakes are going to eat each other and then good people will live without fear
Man what a shithole
@@mikehudson8938 Very specific buddy. "Snakes" ooooh. So scary.
Greece in 2020: “ just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”
It is very true that Greeks leave the country especially the young ones. I am 17 right now, when I finish uni in some years I am planning to move to the UK/US/AUS (i am looking for a stable, English speaking nation) and so are most of my friends. Also loving your Aussie accent mate!
Hey! good luck.
I'll do the same when I graduate
AUS and USA is better
The use of Stock Footage in this video is masterful.
Leverage 😅
Well my country has an economy. I didn't know!
@Dale Gribble Yeah like we'd vote those nazis.
@Dale Gribble Uh, you might want to find out what third world country means
@Dale Gribble Wikipedia would like to disagree. We are a 1st world country.. The reason for having reached this place is because we joined the EU
Dale Gribble And the fascists of Spain stagnated the economy for three decades
@The Hoplite actually I'd say 4rth... which incorporates bankrupt states of the 1rst world.
I love Greece. Everyone is called Spiros, is absurdly hospitable and laid back. They're more interested in talking and bringing you a great service than money. Best holiday destination ever.
Watching this video in hindsight is especially tragic. Greece recorded their first case of the virus just three days after this video came out. And things were finally beginning to look up.
6:45 "...putting money into Questionable Projects" 2004 Summer Olympics
They weren't even in olympia!
Government was pressured by the people a lot about the Olympics. It was a big demand by all greeks for almost a decade so they kinda had to make it. Yes it was a bad idea ( from the economy perspective ) but if you know how things roll in Greece i think you will understand how this country came to where it is now :)
Olympics nowadays are a huge money drain for the hosting country with no comparable benefits (other than feelings of prestige for leaders).
@@seneca983 exactly, also that feeling is applied to the people
Actually the Olympics themselves made a couple 100 mil of profit. However all the public works that were part of the proposal and had to be constructed added to the public debt. Though you can''t really say they bankrupted Greece because they were sorely needed and added quite a lot to economic activity, as infrastructure usually does.
Good video. I am 23 years old, and I have visited Greece 4-5 times. Most of the times with my family, with so many great memories as a kid, you know. One time with some friends, party-time. I have nothing ill to say of Greece. Most of them are honest. When we have lost valuables, they have delivered it to the nearest authority.
Greece's economy :starts to grow again from 2017 to 2019 and the Greek government even signs a loan with a negative interest Coronavirus :wait a minute
It is just so poetic that this video was released 15 days before covid just shut everything down in Greece
Before the crisis, the Greek people actually saved a high portion of their incomes. It was their government that incurred most of the debts.
you mean the same people that protested the welfare and overall spending cuts and demanded the EU to keep financing their lazy asses? Greeks simply got used to spending more than they make.
Mr. Hei Ren indeed. The EU is great for career politicians only.
@@matains88 Why is it whenever an untouchable government fucks up loads of people's lives, despite their best efforts (eg like the Greek people saving lots of their money but their government wrecking things) it's always the people, never the political masterminds that get blamed?
@@Rynewulf because are the people who vote to the politics, lol, honestly, Greece was better under the monarchy
@@mariano98ify Wasn't the monarchy gotten rid of almost a whole century ago? And spent most of it's time bogged down in pointless Balkan wars anyway? Somehow I get the feeling they're doing better than *that* time period
12:50 As you said earlier Greece essentially has no industry it imports almost everything so if imports became more expensive that would destroy the Greek economy.
@S, Lianis I think you're taking the word "industry" out of context here, he's obviously referring to Greece's lack of industrial manufacturing capabilities. You're using the word as a synonym to "field" or even loosely, the word, "business"
@S, Lianis In my language we call it heavy industry which means factories making actual goods not hotels restaurants or shipping.
S, Lianis Tourism isn’t a value-added industry. It’s a good way to bring in foreign cash, but it doesn’t build institutional knowledge or encourage advance training and education of its people. Worse yet, tourist hotspots can become a focal point for crime and local corruption trying to get a few gallons of cash from the waterfall. In the worst case you’ll end up with cities built for 50,000 people having to absorb millions of temporary guest that will wreck local lifestyles and the environment. Tourism can compliment other industries, but not very good on its own.
S, Lianis Also the shipping industry is very dubious because of the layers of national and international maritime laws that make it easier to hold those profits abroad rather than let the money come home and be taxed. On top of that, the largest ship building companies are in Asia, making it simple for a player in China or Korea to slowly shorten the supply chain and run their own shipping fleets. The shipping and tourist industries are also sensitive to global volatility, meaning much higher highs and lower lows. No one wants Greece to fail, but it’s important to understand they have a weak hand atm.
@Joakim von Anka Incontranced, my area considers mining and agriculture industry. I understand about the mining part, but I don't understand the agricultural part
The whole “depreciating currency is good to revitalize an economy” thing is only as effective as the country’s economy itself can shortly maintain it. In the case of Greece, it could work but only due to its tourism industry, and even in those conditions it really only benefits those with higher purchasing power aka tourists. The only way it even begins to benefit the country at large is through industry tax revenue, but this limits businesses (which are already operating with a devalued currency). This ends up hurting the same businesses that are suppose to revamp the economy by “taking advantage” of the devalued currency.
Imagine you worked hard, and suddenly all your savings dropped to 50%.... If you were rich, and you are only half rich....
@@Earthless_Rock Rich people does not store money in the bank. They have it in investments. The only people who would be really bad from devaluing currency in Greece would be banks. Because money they loaned to population would devalue.
Ur right a depreciated currency is less helpful for a services economy, but it would have greatly lowerd the costs and prices of shipping companies, and thus increased their sales. Ur also very wrong that the only way the money spent in increased tourism and shipping would help the economy is through tax receipts. Any spending in an economy would boost AD and have a multiplier effect, it dosn't matter if that comes from the government or from a foreign agent. The Greek government also owned a few ports (including sections of Athens'), and thus would have benefited directly from a shipping boost. A devaluation would also forced a Greek default on any debts (public or private), that are denominated in a foreign currency, and devalued those held in drachma. This would have allowed the Greek economy to focuses on fixing itself instead of having any recovery drained from it in payment to French and German banks that shouldn't have made the loans in the first place.
Its not just that,most of the products in Greece are imported(~80%),which means the economical problem would only get bigger
From a tourism perspective there is a lot of competition; the whole Mediterranean area is just a few hours from pretty much anywhere else in Europe and low cost airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet are commonplace. The main problem with the Euro are that prices are typically the same wherever you go. I would love to visit Greece again but I can't justify it when instead I could go on holiday to Turkey; while there I could stay in a higher grade hotel for less money, eat out a lot more and really not have to worry about my budget. All while enjoying similar weather and beaches.
Great video! This reminds me of Puerto Rico’s economic situation since it’s tied to the American dollar. I think you could make a cool video about PR’s economy with regards to its debt, the Jones Act, its relation to the US, and brain drain. I recently stumbled upon your channel and I’m finding it very insightful so I would be interested in your take on the subject.
So, in a nutshell: The Argentina of Europe. They even share the same sporting colours.
A country that is a full member of NATO, the European Union and the Eurozone can never be like Argentina
L A U G H S I N S P A N I S H
i meannnn We both had juntas and failed cause of some islands 😂😂😂
@Nikos hr richer than Russia and Turkey..? I don't know about Russia but Turkey is still the #19 biggest economy in the world without any help or aid from Europe or the West, despite it having suffered an economical crisis back in 2018. I know that 'cause I've lived here for 5 years now lol Just don't spread misinformation.
@Nikos hr don't mind him, like lots of greeks he tries to overlook the obvious
Always wondered about this country
All African and Asian countries are like Greece , corrupted from the prime minister to the lower policeman. Cleaners at the palace of justice were arranging the delivery of envelopes full of money to the judges. People die in public hospitals because they don't have the " envelope " for the doctor so be operated. Police caught them and the judge send them free back to work !!!
@@ioannislazaridis4887 I'm gonna correct you right there. Asian countries are by no means poor, East and Southeast Asian countries are much wealthier than South America, Africa, and Mediterranean countries. I don't know where you get the idea that Asian countries are poor or has the Economy of Greece.
This false notion that westerners ( particularly white westerners) spew about corruption in Africa is simply NOT true. Africans have THOUSAND years of tradition of brotherhood and unity, just because there are a few rotten apples doenst mean the whole tree is rotten. Africa is and has been held back by western powers for HUNDREDS of years of exploitation,( literally slavery) . governments corruption is almost always due to a western countries or other outside bribery. The citizens are some of the most passionate and gentle I have ever meet so dont paint them all as corrupt.
@@KrolKaz then why did africans still live in mud huts when the europeans arrived? High amounts of social trust and brotherhood accompanied by vast amounts of resources always mean great civilizations. Africa was a place og tribal warfare and suffering, it is getting bryter, but you have no tradition og brotherhood and trust. Please stop deluding yourself.
@@marius8333i sadly have to agree with you
Greece: finally recovering Corona Virus: hey best buddy
Greece managed the ovid crisis quite well though.
Brilliant content. Love these videos. You should do a long form podcast, think it would really suit this style. For me at least the stock footage is completely unneccessary and doesn't add anything. I always listen to your videos with the screen off podcast format anyway. You'd save money on stock footage too! All the best and thank you
EE is absolutely right. And it really pains me to see my country like that, just all of its potential siphoned by parasites, and people in charge of the country absolutely don't know what they're doing.
Oh, so we blame politicians now, are we? Did you not forget that politicians are voted by the people and are doing what people want them to do? How about you take a bit of responsibility for your incompetency.
The current government is the first one after the start of the crisis that is doing a good job and not fucking everything up like the commies beofre it.
Vote for me, it's because we have abandoned the gods and Hermes has cursed us because he isn't getting any chicken to eat and is feeling a bit peckish.
@Jeremy Kirkpatrick Maybe there was no business, and they wouldn't get enough money at that time to warrent being open.
Maybe you should run (μεϳβι ϳȣ ϣȣδ ρων...)
I visited Greece back at one of it's economies lowest points (from what I was seeing in the news) and was absolutely baffled as to why everything was so expensive... this explanation actually makes everything make sense.
expensive??? How? Its cheaper than most european countries to visit, where do you live?
Its on the European average but with a lower per capita GDP(and don't forget that the greek ship merchant companies money doesn't really end up in Greece)@@xeron2780
The time lapses and videos/pictures in the background are beautiful. At least they have that going for them
I'm hooked ! Your videos are short, informative, and very watchable. I'm off to watch the Brexit vid next
I had no idea the Greek economy was so advanced. Love and respect from Iran! ❤️
Neither do we my friend.Cheers.
Advanced in incompetence, inefficiency and corruption.
@@sharefactor I would agree my friend... If it was only that.Where are you from just from curiosity?
The only advanced thing is the commercial navy.
Kinda made me laugh
You should do a video on Ireland’s Economy 🇮🇪
In that regard the interesting bit would be the transformation of the Irish economy in the past 30(-40) years.
It would be all about potatoes so not very interesting
Ireland got hit hard by the crisis, but its recovery has been pretty impressive tbh
Ah yes, the land of tax evasion
The Great Autizmo royally fucked by Brexit
"If there is anything that builds confidence quickly, it is the trust that tomorrow will be better than today" Oh dear, the timing of this video...
Clear and illuminating video. Thank you.
Well i believe Greece has a really strong argicultural/food industry too. Considering it supplies itself,cyprus and the balkans with all sorts of things.Maybe this economy needs a boost to bring back the old days
Greece biggest economic problem is its retirement age
A small intro to Greece's economic problems. Greece has benefited greatly from the EU and eurozone however it is entering the EU and eurozone that is also responsible for the dismantle of greek industry and Greece's productive base. That's mainly because right before Greece entered the EU and the single market back in 1980 the Iranian revolution caused an oil crisis worldwide but was especially felt in Greece whose industry's energy cost rose dramatically relying on Iranian oil. As a result, greek industry was in a dire state. When Greece entered the EU in 1980 being part of the single market meant it could import from other countries of the block cheaper. This was the nail in the coffin of the greek production base. Entering those institutions shifted Greece's economy to one relying on spending and services. In short, Greece was designated as a "consumer" country importing from "producer" countries in the bloc. That's part of the reason why Greece was allowed in the eurozone despite not meeting the criteria back in 2000. Huge loans were directed to Greece (a country whose citizens had extremely high property ownership and very little private debt before), consumption increased and everyone was happy (both Greeks and the factories and banks in the European north). This model worked wonders for a while until 2008 came.The problem with Greece is that the mismanagement before the crisis was followed by an astonishing mismanagement of the crisis itself. In both cases both the Greeks and Greece's European partners/creditors are to blame. Forcing a conservative economic agenda whose main concern was saving the creditors of Greece (mainly German and French banks) and one that was not tailored for the Greek economy by enforcing extreme austerity measures proved disastrous. It's exactly (as stated in the video) like punching a man who is on the ground fighting for his life. Greece became the testbed for an extreme economic adaptation based on austerity causing a lot of damage and condemning any growth prospects.
your videos are great for economic literature bcoz your videos duration is good enough nor short neither too long and your accents is good too
I JUST LOVE THE WAY THAT YOU SAY "HUGE"
side note: I'm on vacation in Greece atm, just wanted to say that it's beautiful here, definitely a great place to travel.
@@Ravi-jb5dq LOL.
@@Ravi-jb5dq Sorry pal, I'm a US citizen ;)
I am glad you are. Is it the coast or in the cities? Athens is a dump and I already posted my comments at the beginning of these reviews. Never again. I hope your trip is uneventful and continue to enjoy it.
@@dohc1067 im born and raised here in athens... unfortunately youre right... athens is very ugly :(( but we are improving :)
@@alexandroskourtis5268 I do apologize for my harsh words. It was a bad experience and it's pretty clear the government's poor leadership and corruption caused this problem. You deserve better and I hope the improvements continue.
I swear to God you are syncing the contents and ideas of these videos with the course of my HSC Economics class, it seems that every video is talking about what we just did in class that week. Very interesting and helpful stuff.
You are mauritian?
Great video. As a Greek, I hate it when channels that have nothing to do with Greece try to explain why Greece is in so much debt, and they fail miserably. You clearly put in a lot of research for this video. It would probably have been better if you talked a bit about the Troika but nevertheless your work is amazing! You earned yourself a new subscriber!
Great video! Thank you!
From what I understand Greece always had recurring economic problems since independence from the Ottoman Empire. Still, this video did a great job at explaining the post-2008 economy of Greece and I am glad that things are improving.
All countries have faced multiple serious crises in 200 years.
As a Greek i have to say that this video is really well made and everything in it is true. However, the problem with Greece, was never solely economical but also political, which i understand why nothing of the sorts is mentioned here, this is an economics channel after all. So i will just like to point out some other factors. 1.) The EU has blame in oversight too. During the good years, they would carve out stimulus programs and would hand them out like candy, but with no over sight as to where these funds were actually going. As a result, and not just in Greece, these funds ended up in "companies" that would go "bankrupt" shortly after, with no oversight. Blatant theft. And the EU is to blame for this because they were like "Here are money, spend them, or we will take them back". The bureaucrats only cared about reporting that they handed out the cash, the local government only cared about giving cash in exchange for votes, and all was "good". 2.) Every attempt of Greek industrialization was broken by the government. Especially industries that would compete with other famed and established European industries. Let me give you an example. There was at some point a thriving diesel engine construction industry. Which failed why? Because it took loans to manage a huge order from the government. The government then failed to pay for said order, while at the same time, refusing to give guarantees to the banks from which the industry took loans. There are numerous examples like this. 3.) Christine Lagarde herself said that they knew that the austerity measures were wrong, but they imposed them anyway. Nuff said. 4.) The financial "aid" which was globally marketed as the Good momma EU helping its wayward Greek child, were in fact, harsh loans, that were meant to pay off previous debts to the German and French banks. You can say, correctly, that Greece made huge mistakes, but the German and French banks did too, by lending money to a dumbass economy like the greek one. However, how can one justify the fact that huge loans were imposed to the Greeks, marketed as "aid", that were only meant that Greece could pay back the German-French banks in order to save them from bankruptcy? 5.) I won't even begin to discuss the huge oil reserves, that were a "conspiracy theory" for decades, that do exist, that international law is broken, noone cares, and Greece is right now too weak to protect itself from a hostile takeover of said reserves.
Greece got into a crysis because of it's own fault! 50+ gardners in a single small hospital? No country can support that! The problems of Greece are the same problems of Portugal (i'm Portuguese): - Too much corruption - Too big public sector - Too much corruption - Too much high taxes - Too much corruption - People expecting stuff from the state forgetting that it all comes out of their own pockets via taxes... - Too much corruption - Government overspending - Too much corruption - Lack of productivty (large public sector) Did i mention corruption? That was the largest factor!
As someone who has lived in Brussels for 17 years, I would like to mention a few things in response to your comments: 1. The EU would love to do oversight on Member state spending. Unfortunately, no European institution has supranational power to override member state decisions, with the exception of the court of justice Therefore EU institutions do not have mandate to force member states to control their spending apart from the Stability and Growth pacts that limits member state spending to a 3% deficit. I have done some research myself and found the 2004 and 2007 Council of the European Union recommendations for Greece. I quote: ''Council decided, based on a recommendation from the Commission, that Greece had not taken effective action in response to the Council recommendation '' They then concluded that Greece had sufficiently followed its commitments for the Growth and Stability pact. However unless all EU-28 members agree on such a decision, the EU is powerless to instruct member states on the allocation of their budgets as long as they remain under 3% deficit and works towards a debt level of 60% of GDP 2. This problem seems to be the result of the large public sector, corruption and taxation mentioned by our Portugese friend. Again, unfortunately the member states have not yet decided to give the EU institutions any mandate for managing member state public sectors and taxation 3. My interpretation of Lagarde comments on the joint IMF-ECB rescue of greece is not necessarily that austerity in itself was bad. To me it sounds more like she felt Greece should have been more responsible earlier on and that the rule-bending needed for the IMF to lend to such a corrupt, mismanaging greek government was unethical. She regrets the IMF deciding to aid a eurozone member that could not spend its government funds responsibly. She seems to think creditors should have restrucured greek debt earlier on but does not seem to call the austerity measures in itself bad, just the fact that Greece mismanaged its funds to the extent that this was necessary. 4. Well the joint ECB-IMF operations are not charity. They are intended to stimulate greece during the financial crisis. Those funds are expected to be paid back in order to keep the IMF credible and sustainable as an organisation. In theory if the EU was actually allowed to help manage government budgets it would not be necessary to worry about lending money to any eurozone country. At the time, it just made sense for banks to lend to economies like greece due to higher interest rates and higher potential gains. It was not considered very risky since it is all EU and Eurozone territory and true risk-analysis would have required more experience with the functioning of the eurozone than was available at the time. 5. Again unfortunately the fault of greek government not managing its spending correctly. '
@@herodesees3767 About your point 1: Could the EU circumvent that by directly funding Institutions or Infrastructure Projects in its Member Countries, rather than giving the Money to the Governements and relying on them to spend it wisely and responsibly?
@@gewreid5946 actually institutions and company's often get the funding directly. But it is the central government's task to provide oversight and make sure people are persecuted when corruption take place. The EU has no instrument to enforce law or rules within the borders of a sovereign nation. There are no EU-cops or an EU-tax office. Personally, I do not want one anyway so this is just cost of doing business this way.
I believe that that is untrue. There were some pretty big protests around 2012 when Angela Merkel visited the greek prime minister, but nowadays most greeks complain about our own politicians. Just because some people are still baselessly hating on Germany doesn't mean the whole country is doing the same.
The "toothless" remark at 7:05 gets me every time! 😂
You are the best economic channel on youtube honestly, you make it easy to understandand difficult market problems even for begginers. My economic teacher is an amateur compared to you
Spain and Italy should need a video too. You can make it together. Because as a spaniard i see the same problems. Huge young unemployment, debt, a bad financial sector, an old population. Decaying industry, low wages compared with North Europe... And soo on 😅😅 This would be a great episode for a very similar countries
Spain is a paradise compared to Greece. Every country has its own problems anyways. US is full of homeless and drugaddicts, UK is in crisis etc
For such a ancient and interesting country it's sad to see how mismanaged its economy was.
Contemporary Greeks have nothing to do with their glorious ancestors. They couldn't even keep the works of great philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, we've gotten them from Moors through Spain. Well, to be fair, Christianity had to do with that, not just Greeks.
@@janchovanec8624 I'm just glad somebody kept em it.
@@janchovanec8624 I mean that's true but you know it's still sad to see there economy plunge to near total collapse.
@@janchovanec8624 Well, being conquered by the Romans, being forced to burn all philosophy and religion related things by the Byzantine state and being conquered by the Turks, who went on a systematic anti-culture campaign will do that to you.
@@ItsRawdraft2 Eh none of that is true...
Never thought i would see my house in a YT video! 😆😆 "Greek success story" is the biggest fairy tale of all economic chronicles, mate! But it is a fair, decent vid! 👍🏻
Excellent and very insightful videos, thanks guys! Please consider doing one video on Argentina!
Economy and greece dont go together after the sack and eventually the fall of Constantinopole
@Joakim von Anka The byzantine empire had a massive economy,and before that ,one of the wealthiest regions if not the wealthiest in the roman empire was Greece(according to Polybius)
one should remember that in the Byzantine empire the progressive tax was enforced for the first time
*Istanbul
You meant the "sack" not "fall",right? It falls once in the fourth crusade
And Constinople is not even in Greece sooo?
I already knew the topic, but you summarized it very well and clearly. Well done! Summarizing the recipe for disaster: spending over their capacity, not saving for the grim times, huge tax evasion and corruption, locked currency that cannot be devalued, inability to make reforms to the public sector. With so many constraints, there's not enough flexibility to fix a an unexpected issue, such as when a dog comes running at you but you're carrying five boxes filled with fragile porcelain. Something is going to break.
Well done. Thanks.
Excellent!
Love your content! A video about economy of Romania would be great too :D
Man i love gyros.
PyroRomancer Amen brother
Tall T.S.S In the Netherlands actual Gyros would probably cost you 4-6€
Tall T.S.S It’s usually really hit or miss. I know the guy is really from Greece himself and they have those rotating meat grill thingies, but never had real gyro in greece
@@thepepchannel7940 if you like gyros you'll like Tacos al pastor look it up it uses a similar cooking process but the meat and ingredients are completely different.
@Tall T.S.S Gyros is lamb or chicken you idiot. There are no pigs in Greece.
Fascinating videos! How about a video about Finland's economy? Asking because it the world's happiest country of 2019
At 2:40, a brief shot of the Wisconsin State Capitol is shown. Great video!
Devaluing a currency also makes the citizens poorer due to falling wages and more expensive imported goods. It would also increase interest rates of government bonds and make it harder to burrow in their own currency. Devaluing in other words is not a magical fix.
Also , Greece's exports are mostly products of petroleum , that means that we have to import oil and then export it in other forms. By devaluing a currency we couldnt import and subsequently not export either 💀
Of course nothing is magic, but their currency was vastly out of alignment with their economy. At minimum, it would have mitigated the impact of the crisis on Greece, and at best, they could have implemented quantitative easing like other countries.
CowEscape Nigeria is the African king of devaluation
It is a very strong weapon, but in case of greece wouldn't help a bit mainly because they didn't really export much. They just lived off tourists (to put it shortly)
@@irbisae4964 Which is a form of export too, it means it gets cheaper to vacation in your country.
1:52 "doctors and lawyers and engineers" I think it's a bit weird to include lawyers in this (brain drain) category. Lawyers' skills and certifications are usually pretty country-specific and thus they can't so easily just seek jobs elsewhere.
No it is not i have 2 sisters lawyers in greece both are thinking about going to other countries to work germany and uk are a very good option for greek lawyers.
@@zaxarispetixos8728: Interesting. What kind of law do they deal with? Presumably they're not trial lawyers?
@@seneca983 Now they work in companies for other lawyers and one of them is working for banks that go after people to take back their money and the other mostly working with ship companies
Well there's EU law so I suppose there are many common standards across member nations?
Sometimes they up working in other fields like my sister in law working as a Hr executive in UK even though she was trained as a lawyer and she earns quite a lot of money.
Thank you, now forever I'll be thinking in the Greek economy whils watching that episode of Friends...
That friends part , made my day
I love 7:06 picture of grandma running a "collection agency"
They keyword is "toothless"
@@movement2contact LMFAO
Could you perhaps go for the economy of Hungary during the inflation period "pengö-period" and go over the economy today? It would be quite interesting. Greetings from Sweden 🇸🇪🇸🇪
Leave Hungary alone, Swede.
cant wait to go to the store with my 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengos to buy myself some bread
@Joakim von Anka What do you mean "enforcing liberal democracy"? Oh never mind you mean "Diversity is our strength".
@@paulcoleman5512 diversity is our not our strength, it doesn't lead to any good.
@@erikliljeberg1796 That's kinda what I was referring to...
Great video!
The friends reference was spot on 👌
So basically Greece: joining Eurozone seems like a good idea for the economy Greek Economy: So anyways I started blasting *bang* *bang*
😂😂😂😂
Hey Economics Explained, is there a plan for a "The Economy of France" video ? Besides that, your channel is great.
watching this video now (after the corona crisis) adds some flavour to it I must say...
Love the signs at 10:05
I was in Greece once. (Crete) It is a really nice!
@Errika K. Chania is stunning, spent a night there while staying in Rethymno.
@Errika K. No but we did tour the island a lot - Preveli beach, Knossos/Heraklion city, Spinalonga, Samaria, many beaches etc. At Chania we had only a few hours - dinner on the lighthouse side of the bay, then a walk out to the lighthouse itself, a walk around town and then back to Rethymno. It's an amazing island, and although my soul is in Scotland, part of my heart is in Κρήτη. 🏴🇬🇷🧿
Would be very interesting to do economy of a nation which used to belong to SSSR like czech republic, poland, slovakia, hungary etc.
*USSR
Neither of this countries 'belonged' to the USSR
@@christianpenchev2689 used to be part of
@@billboard3104 Neither of these countries used to be a part of the Soviet Union :D
@@billboard3104 again they weren't part of the USSR. Yes heavily influenced, but never part of.
"Tomorrow will be better than today" *Covid-19 has entered the chat*
I'm lovin this channel
Great presentation Could you do one video on Portugal please and thank you
What Greece did with it's economic policies: When the car was going down the hill, they accelerated. When the car got to the bottom, and tried to climb up the next hill, they applied the brakes.
It's more like they ran out of gas
Great vids pal :)
great video 👍
"Greek politician corruption intensifies."
It should be pointed out that Greece from it's inception as a modern country was set up with huge debt, which hadn't helped
Not to mention that the nazi swine destroyed 80-90% of any kind of infrastructure in transportation and industry. And post war they made it through, the country is highly developed in all fields, as if the war never happened when compared to non war-participating countries.
@@xekourdistolemoni That's the Marshall plan for you. A broke country won't repay its war debt and you have no way of preventing them from becoming hostile again. That's the mistake they made with the versailles treaty. Plus, the US wanted west germany as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and helping to rebuild the german economy decreased the risk of it becoming communist.
They need to go back to their Spartan ways.
@Moto Guzzi All loans given during that era as financial support have been fully paid out.
@Moto Guzzi Cause I am right. All the loans given have been paid out (last ones in 2018 iirc) which is not mentioned that often for w/e reason. Also, county's debt is considered sustainable at 302ish billions while its gdp is 210ish billions. Idk how things will turn out due to corona but that's how it is for the time being.
This is the best explanation of the Greek crisis that I have seen. You hit the nail on the head! As for corruption,I read a report that a Porsche Cayenne was stopped by Greek police for using false number plates; it turned out the driver was a former finance minister trying to avoid vehicle tax.... No wonder no one wants to pay tax with an example like that.
Things are finally taking a turn, more investment is occuring in Greece and prosperity is increasing
seriously?
Are you sure is not just China borrowing money?
@@FernandoSantos-nz9ot yes it was true growth, but covid
I thought I understood economics, but this was all Greek to me.
I was hoping for an explanation on how the Olympics also added to the mess. Great video though :)
For a moment I thought you were going to talk about the economy of ancient Greece.