By Vassilis Kostoulas
[email protected]
A noted Greek economist and author told “N” this week that Greece’s striking fiscal adjustment over the last few years of an ongoing economic crisis is “not sustainable”, warning that the improvement in public finances stemmed from increased tax revenues instead of spending cuts.
Christos Ioannou emphasized the point in presenting the conclusions of his study on Greece’s public administration. In pressing forth his thesis, he noted that between 1974 and 2009 the ratio of civil servants to the general population increased by more than five-fold.
Ioannou also reiterated that Greek taxpayers are paying “twice” for public services, which he described as “private-public”.
In echoing criticisms of the carnivorous Greek state over past decades, Ioannou cited OECD figures in describing an overgrown public sector and over-taxation, factors that exacerbate unemployment in the private sector and further reduce citizens’ disposable income.
“Reforms are passed with difficulty in Greece, and implemented with even more difficulty,” he said.
Moreover, he stressed that the Greek state will become more functional and effective once it ceases to act as a producer of debt, public and private, for future generations.
Ioannou is the author of “Public sector employment relations in Greece: Adjustment and Reforms”, for “Public Service Management and Employment Relations in Europe; Emerging from the Crisis?”.
