Why the Greek meltdown became a Euro-zone crisis

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations

Publication Date

7-1-2011

Volume

12

Issue

2

First Page

43

Last Page

55

Publisher

Seton Hall University * School of Diplomacy & International Relations

Abstract

The article looks at the debt crisis in Greece and analyzes the role it played as a causal factor in the European sovereign debt crisis beginning in 2009. The author notes that the roots of Greece's debt problem lie earlier in the 2000s, when primarily German and French banks provided a high volume of low-interest loans to the country, counting on their own governments' implicit loan guarantees. He argues that because eurozone leaders took many months to respond effectively to a possible Greek default, the contagion effect of Greece's situation became far worse than it would have been. Also discussed are possible policies and mechanisms to strengthen eurozone economic governance, including more centralized control over countries' budgets.

Print ISSN

19363419

E-ISSN

19363427

Publisher Statement

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Fischer, H., Neaman, E., & Sharma, S. (2011). Why the Greek meltdown became a Euro-zone crisis. Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy & International Relations, 12(2), 43-55.

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