Myths and Self-Deceptions about the Greek Debt Crisis

The long-running Greek public debt crisis has been accompanied by an information war that has obscured many important aspects of what has occurred. The misconceptions, self-deceptions, and myths associated with the crisis have been at least partly responsible for the obviously inadequate response to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRevue d'économie politique Vol. 125; no. 6; pp. 755 - 785
Main Author Skaperdas, Stergios
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dalloz 01.11.2015
Subjects
Bank liquidity
Bank loans
Banking crises
Debt
Débats / opinions
Euro Zone
Government crises
Loan defaults
Public debt
Self deception
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Summary:The long-running Greek public debt crisis has been accompanied by an information war that has obscured many important aspects of what has occurred. The misconceptions, self-deceptions, and myths associated with the crisis have been at least partly responsible for the obviously inadequate response to the crisis that has not only damaged the economy and society of Greece, but has also harmed the euro zone project. I argue against seven such myths about the effects of default, the primary cause of the crisis, the likely effects of an exit from the euro zone, the bargaining power of the Greek government in its negotiations with the EU/ECB/IMF troika, and other related issues. I also discuss the context of the wider retreat of democracy in the European Union and its future prospects. La longue course de la crise de la dette publique Grecque a été accompagnée d'une guerre de l'information qui a occulté de nombreux aspects importants de ce qui a eu lieu. Les idées reçues, les illusions et les mythes associés à la crise ont été, au moins, en partie responsables de la réponse, de toute évidence insuffisante, à la crise, ce qui a non seulement nuit à l'économie et à la société grecque mais également au projet de la zone euro. Je m'oppose contre sept de ces mythes relatifs aux effets du défaut, à la cause principale de la crise, aux effets probables de la sortie de la zone euro, au pouvoir de négociation du gouvernement Grec dans ses négociations avec la troïka Union Européenne – Commission Européenne – Fonds Monétaire International, et à d'autres sujets connexes. Je discute également du contexte de l'important recul de la démocratie dans l'Union Européenne et de ses perspectives d'avenir.
ISSN:0373-2630
2105-2883