OECD Economic Survey : Greece, 1995-1996.

156 Pages·9.089 MB·English

by  OECD

OECD
ECONOMIC
SURVEYS
GREECE
%
k
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OECD
ECONOMIC
SURVEYS
1995-1996
GREECE
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960,
and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed:
- to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising
standard ofliving in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and
thus to contribute to the development ofthe world economy;
- to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member
countries in the process of economic development; and
- to contribute to the expansion ofworld tradeon a multilateral, non-discriminatory
basis in accordance with international obligations.
The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the
United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subse¬
quently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964),
Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973),
Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995) and Hungary
(7th May 1996). TheCommission oftheEuropean Communitiestakes partinthe workof
the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention).
Publié également en français.
© OECD 1996
Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part ofthis
publication should be made to:
Head ofPublications Service, OECD
2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France.
Table of contents
Introduction 1
I. Recent trends and short-term prospects 3
Demand and output gained momentum 4
Employment creation improved slightly but unemployment rose 8
Slow progress in disinflation 9
A weakened but sustainable current account deficit 13
The economic outlook for 1996-97 18
II. Macroeconomic and structural policies 22
Fiscal policy 24
Monetary policy 40
Structural policies 47
III. Implementing the OECD Jobs Strategy 53
Introduction 53
Labour market and employment performance 54
Policy requirements 70
Recent policy actions 87
Assessment and scope for further action 89
IV. Conclusions 97
Notes 107
Annexes
I. May 1996 measures to control expenditure 118
II. Chronology of main economic events 120
Statistical annex and structural indicators 127
Boxes
1. The Second Community Support Framework 50
2. The OECD Jobs Study Strategy: Synopsis of recommendations
for Greece 90
Tables
Text
1. Labour market: recent developments 9
2. Prices and wages 10
3. Balance of payments 16
4. External debt and debt service 17
5. The short-term outlook 20
6. General government accounts 25
7. Budget plans and outcomes 26
8. Public sector debt 32
9. Civilian employment 60
10. Cross-country comparison of the labour market 65
Statistical annex and structural indicators
A. National product and expenditure 128
B. Gross fixed capital formation 129
C. Income and expenditure of private sector 130
D. Government revenue and expenditure 131
E. Industrial production 132
F. Prices and wages 133
G. Foreign trade by area 134
H. Balance of payments, OECD basis 135
I. Money and banking 136
J. Public sector 138
Figures
Text
1. Contributions to real GDP growth 3
2. Investment 5
3. Private consumption and wages 6
4. Prices and wages 11
5. Exchange rates 14
6. Industrial production and business indicators 19
7. Nominal anchors 24
8. Main components of the general government budget 29
9. The structure of the general government budget: a comparison
with the EU 36
10. Social expenditure 38
1 1. Money and credit 44
12. Interest rates 46
13. Employment and unemployment 55
14. Labour supply and demand 57
15. Structure of employment 58
16. Output growth and employment 62
17. Unemployment patterns 64
18. Employment and unemployment by level of education 67
19. Beveridge and Okun curves 68
20. Business sector: real wage, productivity and labour shares 69
21. Minimum wages and average earnings 75
22. Tax wedge and take-home pay of an average production worker 80
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BASIC STATISTICS OF GREECE (1994)
THE LAND
Area(sq.km) 131 957 Majorurbanareas, 1991 census
Cultivatedarea(sq. km) 39290 (thousandinhabitants)
GreaterAthens(includingPiraeus) 3073
GreaterThessaloniki 978
THE PEOPLE
Population (thousands) 10426 Totalemployment(thousands) 3789.6
Numberofinhabitantspersq.km 79.0 Bysector(percent):
Netnatural increase(thousands) 6.0 Agriculture 20.8
Industryandconstruction 23.6
Otheractivities,mainlyservices 55.5
PRODUCTION
Grossnationalproduct,GNP(billionDr) 24271.3 Grossfixedinvestment
GNPperhead(US$) 9610.1 PercentofGNP 19.5
Perhead(US$) 1 873.1
THE GOVERNMENT
Generalgovernment(percentofGNP) CompositionofParliament(numberofscats): 300
Currentexpenditures 43.7 PanhellenicSocialistMovement(PASOK) 169
Currentrevenue 35.1 New Democracy(ND) 109
Political Spring(POLA) 11
CommunistParty(KKE) 9
Independents 2
Lastgeneralelections:October 1993
THE CURRENCY
Monetaryunit: Drachma CurrencyunitsperUS$,averageofdailyfigures:
Year 1995 231.6
May 1996 243.1
Note: Aninternationalcomparisonofcertainbasicstatisticsisgiveninanannextable.
This Survey is based on the Secretariat's study
prepared for the annual review of Greece by the
Economic and Development Review Committee
on 10th June 1996.
m
Afterrevisions in the lightofdiscussionsduring the
review,final approval ofthe Surveyforpublication was
given by the Committee on 1st July 1996 .
The previous Survey of Greece was issued in
March 1995.