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
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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.