Not long after the onset of the global financial crisis, Greece came into the European spotlight. Heavy public indebtedness became apparent after a revision of fiscal data in 2009 by the (then) newly elected socialist government led to an increase in the deficit figures from 3.7 per cent of GDP to 13.6 per cent, and an increase in the national debt from 99.6 per cent of GDP to 115.1 per cent, leaving the country vulnerable to the crisis. The immediate reaction of international financial markets was the downgrading of the country’s credit rating, raising the cost of borrowing to prohibitive levels. Against the backdrop of a continuous deterioration in the economic situation, the Greek government announced a bailout agreement with the Troika, conditional on the adoption of a detailed list of reform measures.

In a recent study, I examine the content of the reform measures in the pension and health sectors in Greece in the post-crisis period in terms of their content and their future impact on the architecture of both systems. While the Troika has been associated with severe retrenchment, it is also true that both the pension and health systems were faced with significant sustainability, adequacy and modernisation challenges well before the crisis and the advent of the Troika. In relation to financial sustainability, the European Commission’s projections published in 2009 showing a doubling of expenditure between 2007 and 2060 were already a cause for alarm, even though this was ignored by the conservative government of that period.

Read More: London School Of Economic