Finance Minister’s Think Tank Says Greek Economy Getting Worse

Andy Dabilis

ATHENS – Greece’s new Finance Minister, Yiannis Stournaras, will have some reliable – if frightening - numbers to work with as he takes on the daunting challenge of trying to restore the economy: his own think tank has put out a report showing an economic reduction of 6.9 percent , taking the budget deficit to 9 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and unemployment going up another 1 percent to hit 23.6 percent this year. The bad news came from the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) which Stournaras, a noted economist and technocrat, founded. He was General Director until taking the finance post when new Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ first choice, former Bank of Greece President, Vassilis Rapanos, resigned after taking ill and complaining that the Cabinet was stacked with too many re-tread politicians. IOBE reported that the austerity measures demanded by international lenders – big pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions, had driven down consumer spending so much that tax revenues were falling, even as Greece is struggling to find revenues to keep paying back a first series of $152 billion in rescue loans from the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) and awaiting a second for $173 billion more.

• Already a subscriber?
  Sign in to read full article.
• Not a subscriber?
  Subscribe now and get full access!

July 10, 2012