With tensions rising over Greece's current debt crisis, this study chronicles the Occupation Loan that was forcibly obtained by the Third Reich from Greece in 1942-44. It demonstrates why Greece's claim for the repayment of the loan is still valid and endeavours to estimate its present value. To overcome the absence of a normal debt agreement between the two countries, various assessments of its current value are presented and discussed. A proposal is outlined on how the German obligation can be settled within the bailout agreement that Greece has signed to face the current debt crisis. Resolving a longstanding issue and bringing justice to the sacrifices that Greece made during WW2, the settlement will also help to mitigate the hostile stereotyping that is presently developing between the two countries. This text provides a close study of Greece's economic history and present crisis. It will make essential reading for scholars and students of economic history and those interested in the European economic crisis.

This book explores how successful the various tenets of economic thought have been in prognosticating or remedying economic crises. Examining key episodes in economic history, from famines in antiquity to present-day financial collapse, the author finds that several theories failed to cope with a crisis and lost their academic impact. The author also presents cases in which major theoretical innovations were achieved after the experience of a crisis as well as cases where a completely new theory was needed to explain and face the events. This book will appeal to researchers and scholars interested in understanding how theoretical developments in economics are affected by real-world economic crises.

This book provides a quantitative framework for the analysis of conflict dynamics and for estimating the economic costs associated with civil wars. The author develops modified Lotka-Volterra equations to model conflict dynamics, to yield realistic representations of battle processes, and to allow us to assess prolonged conflict traps. The economic costs of civil wars are evaluated with the help of two alternative methods: Firstly, the author employs a production function to determine how the destruction of human and physical capital stocks undermines economic growth in the medium term. Secondly, he develops a synthetic control approach, where the cost is obtained as the divergence of actual economic activity from a hypothetical path in the absence of civil war. The difference between the two approaches gives an indication of the adverse externalities impinging upon the economy in the form of institutional destruction. By using detailed time-series regarding battle casualties, local socio-economic indicators, and capital stock destruction during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949), a full-scale application of the above framework is presented and discussed.

Structural Funds: Growth, Employment and the Environment is a book on the role of transfers designed for assisting sustainable development of less developed regions within the European Union. The book places special emphasis on the future path of the Greek economy and discusses likely outcomes -related directly to the impact of these transfers- in: Growth and macroeconomic convergence Employment in key sectors of the economy Energy demand and its environmental aspect The book uses macroeconomic modelling and modern applied econometric techniques to analyze these issues, thus offering a coherent methodological framework for their presentation. To this extent, Structural Funds: Growth, Employment and the Environment can serve to: Academic researchers and economists in recipient countries who can gain a better understanding of how national authorities can best design and implement the strategic allocation and utilization of these funds to maximize the benefits for the domestic economy Policymakers in the European Union by offering a sound and rigorously elaborated treatment which can be applied as an estimation and comparison tool for the effects of Structural Funds both at the national and the international level Economists in Eastern European countries which are at the pre-accession stage and will be eligible for this type of transfers in the near future.

The book explores in depth both the origins of the Greek debt crisis and the conditions under which the economy might be turned around from its current malaise. Greek debt turned explosive after the 2008 global crisis, through a combination of a fiscal spree and domestic policy complacency, but the unpreparedness and indecision of the European Union intensified the problem of liquidity and a massive bail-out agreement became inevitable. However, the stringencies of the adjustment program led to more recession and unemployment, while social tension and political polarization became entrenched. In 2015, a radical Left party, Syriza, ascended to power on a ticket to end austerity and renegotiate Greece's debt agreements, but a long-lasting growth and reform agenda is still to be settled upon. This book lays out some key reforms that would allow Greece to return to growth and, at the same time, keep the Euro, an option that still remains a cornerstone for the country's economic and geopolitical stability.

The book explores in depth both the origins of the Greek debt crisis and the conditions under which the economy might be turned around from its current malaise. Greek debt turned explosive after the 2008 global crisis, through a combination of a fiscal spree and domestic policy complacency, but the unpreparedness and indecision of the European Union intensified the problem of liquidity and a massive bail-out agreement became inevitable. However, the stringencies of the adjustment program led to more recession and unemployment, while social tension and political polarization became entrenched. In 2015, a radical Left party, Syriza, ascended to power on a ticket to end austerity and renegotiate Greece's debt agreements, but a long-lasting growth and reform agenda is still to be settled upon. This book lays out some key reforms that would allow Greece to return to growth and, at the same time, keep the Euro, an option that still remains a cornerstone for the country's economic and geopolitical stability.

This analysis of macroeconomic policy, originally published in 1989, argues that key government objectives, such as reduced inflation, decreased unemployment and an adequate level of national saving can be achieved only by employing both monetary and fiscal policies, in conjunction with supply-side policies expressly designed to improve the workings of the labour market. Part 1 is a comparative analysis showing the effects of monetary and fiscal policy on the economy. Real-wage rigidity in the labour market is shown to have important consequences for the working of both types of policy, because it conditions the economy's response to tax changes. Part 2 presents an econometric model which combines consistent stock-flow accounts with a full range of expectational effects. Part 3 presents an innovative technique for solving rational expectations models with the need for arbitary terminal conditions.

This analysis of macroeconomic policy, originally published in 1989, argues that key government objectives, such as reduced inflation, decreased unemployment and an adequate level of national saving can be achieved only by employing both monetary and fiscal policies, in conjunction with supply-side policies expressly designed to improve the workings of the labour market. Part 1 is a comparative analysis showing the effects of monetary and fiscal policy on the economy. Real-wage rigidity in the labour market is shown to have important consequences for the working of both types of policy, because it conditions the economy's response to tax changes. Part 2 presents an econometric model which combines consistent stock-flow accounts with a full range of expectational effects. Part 3 presents an innovative technique for solving rational expectations models with the need for arbitary terminal conditions.

This book provides a quantitative framework for the analysis of conflict dynamics and for estimating the economic costs associated with civil wars. The author develops modified Lotka-Volterra equations to model conflict dynamics, to yield realistic representations of battle processes, and to allow us to assess prolonged conflict traps. The economic costs of civil wars are evaluated with the help of two alternative methods: Firstly, the author employs a production function to determine how the destruction of human and physical capital stocks undermines economic growth in the medium term. Secondly, he develops a synthetic control approach, where the cost is obtained as the divergence of actual economic activity from a hypothetical path in the absence of civil war. The difference between the two approaches gives an indication of the adverse externalities impinging upon the economy in the form of institutional destruction. By using detailed time-series regarding battle casualties, local socio-economic indicators, and capital stock destruction during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949), a full-scale application of the above framework is presented and discussed.

This book explores how successful the various tenets of economic thought have been in prognosticating or remedying economic crises. Examining key episodes in economic history, from famines in antiquity to present-day financial collapse, the author finds that several theories failed to cope with a crisis and lost their academic impact. The author also presents cases in which major theoretical innovations were achieved after the experience of a crisis as well as cases where a completely new theory was needed to explain and face the events. This book will appeal to researchers and scholars interested in understanding how theoretical developments in economics are affected by real-world economic crises.

Structural Funds: Growth, Employment and the Environment is a book on the role of transfers designed for assisting sustainable development of less developed regions within the European Union. The book places special emphasis on the future path of the Greek economy and discusses likely outcomes -related directly to the impact of these transfers- in: * Growth and macroeconomic convergence * Employment in key sectors of the economy * Energy demand and its environmental aspect The book uses macroeconomic modelling and modern applied econometric techniques to analyze these issues, thus offering a coherent methodological framework for their presentation.To this extent, Structural Funds: Growth, Employment and the Environment can serve to: * Academic researchers and economists in recipient countries who can gain a better understanding of how national authorities can best design and implement the strategic allocation and utilization of these funds to maximize the benefits for the domestic economy * Policymakers in the European Union by offering a sound and rigorously elaborated treatment which can be applied as an estimation and comparison tool for the effects of Structural Funds both at the national and the international level * Economists in Eastern European countries which are at the pre-accession stage and will be eligible for this type of transfers in the near future.