Economic Crisis

Proceedings of the Workshop organised by the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels on 17 January 2008. The post-2007 global financial and economic crisis has generated considerable political pressure in the EU, and beyond, to loosen the reigns of fiscal policy. Stabilisation is given priority over adjustment. In the medium and long term, however, one of the main

Το παρόν άρθρο αποσκοπεί στο να διερευνήσει τις επιπτώσεις της οικονομικής κρίσης στο εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα με έμφαση στη διαφοροποίηση των κοινωνικά προσδιορισμένων ανισοτήτων στην Ανώτατη Εκπαίδευση στην Ελλάδα. Όπως διαπιστώνεται, σε συνθήκες προϊούσας οικονομικής κρίσης μειώνονται σημαντικά τόσο οι δημόσιες δαπάνες για εκπαίδευση, όσο  και η ιδιωτική κατανάλωση των νοικοκυριών για εκπαιδευτικά αγαθά. Επιπλέον διαπιστώνεται ότι σε όλη την προηγούμενη χρονική περίοδο, παρά τις όποιες «μεταρρυθμιστικές» προσπάθειες και την αύξηση του αριθμού των προπτυχιακών και των μεταπτυχιακών φοιτητών, οι κοινωνικά προσδιορισμένες ανισότητες πρόσβασης στην Ανώτατη Εκπαίδευση στην Ελλάδα, όχι μόνο επιμένουν διαχρονικά αλλά και διευρύνονται συνεχώς, ανάλογα με το εκάστοτε επίπεδο αναφοράς (Πανεπιστήμια / Τ.Ε.Ι., Τμήματα υψηλού / χαμηλού γοήτρου, κ.ο.κ.), σε συνάρτηση και με την κοινωνικοοικονομική κατάσταση των νοικοκυριών προέλευσης. Υπό τις συνθήκες αυτές, λόγω και της προϊούσας οξείας δημοσιονομικής κρίσης, η κατάσταση αυτή παγιώνεται και προσλαμβάνει νέες διαστάσεις καθιστώντας την ανάταξη του προβλήματος των κοινωνικά προσδιορισμένων ανισοτήτων πρόσβασης στην Ανώτατη Εκπαίδευση ένα ιδιαίτερα δύσκολο εγχείρημα.

Avrupa Birliği (AB) kuruluş ve gelişim süreci boyunca çeşitli amaçlara sahip oldu: kapitalizmin "barış" koşullarında zor dışı yollarla yayılması ve işlemesi; Doğu blokundan korunma arzusu, bununla da bağlantılı olarak ABD sermayesiyle bütünleşme ihtiyacı; daha sonrasında emperyalistler arası rekabette ayakta kalma ihtiyacı, bununla da bağlantılı olarak Euro bölgesi, Schengen sistemi gibi Avrupa sermayesinin elini güçlendirecek bütünleşme adımları ve bunların AB dışındaki bölgeleri de dâhil edecek şekilde genişlemesi. Bu bütünleşme sürecini meşrulaştırmak için de çeşitli teoriler ortaya atıldı veya bazı bütünleşme teorileri bu süreçleri meşrulaştırmak için kullanıldı; 1980'lerden itibaren AB'nin bütünleşmesinin hızlanmasıyla bu teoriler de gelişti ve büyük ölçüde AB bütünleşmesiyle ilgili süreçlerin sorgulanmasını, bunlara eleştirel yaklaşılmasını engellemeye dönük ideolojik ve kültürel bir ortam yarattı. Halbuki bu yaklaşımlar Euro bölgesinin çevre ülkelerinin gerçekliğini açıklamaktan uzaktır. Bu çalışma, İrlanda, İspanya, Portekiz ve Yunanistan'ın dünya ekonomisi içindeki yerlerini, bu ülkelere gerçekleşen sermaye hareketleri ile bunların sabit sermaye yatırımı yaratma kapasitelerini, bu durumun bu ülkelerin emek maliyetlerini nasıl etkilediğini inceleyerek Avrupa bütünleşmesine dair anaakım yaklaşımların sunduğu çerçevenin yanıltıcı olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Özellikle Euro bölgesinin hayata geçmesinin ardından, incelenen ülkelerin rekabet güçleri aşınmış, ücretlilerin gelirleri düşmüş, sermaye akımları sabit sermaye yatırımlarına dönüşmemiş, imalat sanayileri yüksek teknolojili ve katma değer yaratan bir yapıdan uzak kalmıştır. Euro bölgesi krizi de bu eğilimleri (özellikle ücretlerin baskılanması konusunda) daha da kuvvetlendirmiştir. Krize karşı çevre ülkelere dayatılan politikalar da mevcut çelişkileri yeniden üretme eğilimindedir.

AN EVALUATION OF GREECE'S MILITARY SPENDING DURING ECONOMIC CRISIS PERIOD

ABSTRACT
The Peace Operation to Cyprus conducted by Turkey in 1974 signed the return of Greece to democratic regime from the military governance known as "Colonels Junta". Since then Greece spent her energy instead of USA to Europe (EC) and moreover, despite the Cold War reality, to the development of relations with her northern neighbors "ruled by communist regimes" and shaped her foreign, military and even internal policies according to the "threat from the East, Turkey". Therefore, the defense and military spending of Greece developed to counterbalance Turkey. However, the ongoing economic crisis that broke out in 2008, brought the reassessment of the implemented policies by Greek and foreign academics. On the other hand, since 1999 the "normalization" of relations with Turkey instead of crisis spiral, caused to question whether is Turkey still perceived as a threat or not by Greece.
Thus, in this paper beginning from the paradox that Greece's threat perception was shaped against Turkey, a co-member of NATO Alliance an analysis of Greek foreign policy and military spending from 1974 and onwards and the effects of recent developments such as the "rapprochement" with Turkey and the economic crisis on Greece's foreign policy and military spending will be discussed.
Key Words: Greece, Military Spending, Foreign Policy, Economic Crisis, Turkey.

Partindo da literatura marxista clássica e contemporânea, o texto visa analisar a reconfiguração monopolista-financeira do capital, tendo como objeto a análise do capitalismo a partir da ótica financeira, expondo os seus mecanismos parasitários, como a implementação de uma especulação financeira em determinados setores econômicos. Nesse sentido, o grande mote impulsionador desse trabalho foi a crise global de 2008 como parte de um contexto geral e dialético de descontrole inevitável. Dessa forma, a partir dessas reflexões é possível compreender o caráter estacionário das economias capitalistas modernas que adotam a financeirização como norte econômico.

Since 1980s, when globalization has accelerated significantly, financial cri-ses have occurred much more frequently. As a result of financial deepening across markets and as markets become more dependent on each other, regional or sectoral crises tend to spread further. In 2008, financial crisis that commenced in American Housing Market, spread quickly first to the entire U.S. economy, then went global and infected the global financial system. Although the crisis originated in the U.S, the world's largest economy, it had profound impacts on developing countries. Since Turkey's financial system is not as deep as United States' and due to the reforms adopted in 2001, Turkey experienced the global crisis in a different way. Unlike it was stated by the authorities, which made economic policies in that period, Turkey did not see least damage from the crisis, in fact was hit hard by it. While presence of strong control mechanisms in the Turkish financial sector causes the crisis to be felt less in this sector, the shrinkage in the world trade volume influenced especially manufacturing and export sectors negatively. In this study, by examining basic macroeconomic data such as exchange rates, international trade data, consumer confidence index, interest and growth rate an analysis is done on the Turkey's mostly affected sectors.

En septiembre de 2007 se hizo evidente una grave crisis financiera en los países desarrollados debido a graves errores de política económica. Aun contra su propia ideología, los gobiernos no han escatimado medidas para reducir sus efectos, no han logrado contenerla y avanza hacia una recesión mundial de profundidad y duración inciertas. Ya ha producido cambios en los paradigmas teóricos y prácticos que han dominado la academia y la política en las últimas tres décadas. También tendrá fuertes efectos en los frágiles equilibrios económicos, sociales y políticos de los países en desarrollo, en particular de América Latina por su dependencia de la producción de materias primas, remesas y flujos de capitales externos que se están reduciendo rápidamente. La crisis llevará a una nueva relación Estado-mercado y a nuevos paradigmas con fuerte influencia keynesiana, y de ella nacerá una nueva oportunidad para América Latina si logra consolidar una nueva manera de gestionar su economía.

Does the economic recession lead to a democratic recession? In this exploratory paper I examine the relationship between the
current economic crisis and the quality of democracy in 18 Western European countries.

In the first, theoretical, part of the paper I introduce ways in which the quality of democracy can be challenged the wake of an economic crisis. I focus especially on two clusters of challenges, namely elite imposed changes (Weimar and progressive
mechanism) and changes driven by interaction with public opinion (e.g. in reaction to mass protests or pervasive public dissatisfaction. These are the mechanisms of crowd-pleasing, fixing and key jangling). While the first cluster of challenges is likely to result in significant changes to the quality of democracy, the second is far less likely to do so.

The empirical part of the paper shows that governments so far have mainly taken recourse to key jangling and crowd-pleasing rather than fundamentally changing the quality of democracy. For now, the 18 democracies seem fairly resilient.

This article considers some of the theories and ways in which some modern scientists and economists have claimed that a "new economy" could emerge; the shift from manufacturing to services, technological transformation and flexible labour markets or telework. The advantages and disadvantages of economic change, its benefits and costs, are discussed as people desperately try to balance the pressing demands of work and personal life in times of crisis.

This symposium addresses the role of wars and crises as mechanisms of international change. Over the past two decades, the international system has undergone a number of remarkable transformations, from the end of the Cold War to the emergence of an ongoing “War on Terror,” and from the collapse of statist development models to the emergence of a contested—if evolving—neoliberal “Washington Consensus.” This volatility exceeds any underlying shifts in economic structures or the distribution of capabilities, and raises important questions regarding the roles of agency, uncertainty, and ideas in advancing change. In this introduction we examine the role of wars and economic crises as socially constructed openings for change. We attempt three things: to critique materialist approaches in the security and political economy issue areas, to outline the distinctive contribution that an agent-centered constructivist understanding of such events offers, and to offer a framework for the study of such events, one which highlights an expanded range of elite-mass interactions.

What are the implications of hard economic times for regional economic cooperation? Existing research is sharply divided on the answer to this question. Some studies suggest that economic crises encourage governments to strengthen their regional institutions, but others indicate that they lead to decreasing investment in such initiatives. Both sides overlook the possibility that the passage of time conditions these relationships, however. We aim to bridge these opposing perspectives by distinguishing between short-term and long-term effects of economic hard times on institutionalized regional cooperation. We argue that in the short term economic crises impede regional institutionalization due to protectionist pressures, nationalistic public sentiments, and political instability. This effect is reversed in the longer term, as interest groups and the public adopt more favorable attitudes toward regional economic organizations (REOs) and governments employ these institutions to demonstrate their competence and to improve economic conditions. We evaluate this argument in relations to regional institutionalization, which refers to the functional scope and structure of REOs. Using a data set that contains information on this dimension for thirty REOs over four decades, we find strong support for the theoretical framework: regional institutionalization remains stagnant in the immediate aftermath of economic crises, but increases in subsequent years.

Die Katalan*innen haben ein Recht auf ein Referendum. Seit Jahren gärt es. Längst geht es nicht mehr nur um die alten nationalistischen Unabhängigkeitsbestrebungen, die sich auf den Verlust der katalanischen Unabhängigkeit im 18. Jahrhundert beziehen. Referenzpunkt ist bei vielen eher die Zeit der Republik in den 1930er Jahren und der »kurze Sommer der Anarchie«. Dies ist keine Selbstverständlichkeit. Über viele Jahrzehnte wurde der katalanische Nationalismus vorwiegend von der Bourgeoisie vertreten, einer im spanischen Vergleich reichen und mächtigen Bourgeoisie, die mit den Autonomiestatuten dem postfranquistischen spanischen Regime viele Zugeständnisse abringen konnte. Schließlich waren über Jahrzehnte viele Regierungen von PP und PSOE von der katalanischen Regionalpartei Convergència i Unió (kurz CiU) abhängig. Diese stellte auch jahrzehntelang den katalanischen Ministerpräsidenten. Doch seit Ausbruch der Krise und der gesellschaftlichen Mobilisierung seit 2011 veränderte die Bewegung für »wirkliche Demokratie« auch die Bewegung für Unabhängigkeit. Die Bewegung veränderte die Gesellschaft, doch es gelang ihr nicht die stabilen Institutionen der Macht in Madrid (und in Europa) zu erreichen. Es folgte die Eroberung der Institutionen in den Städten und Kommunen, allen voran Barcelona: Barcelona en Comù gewann die Wahlen und stellt mit Ada Colau, der ehemaligen Sprecherin der Plattform gegen Zwangsräumungen (PAH), die Bürgermeisterin. Doch die Auflagen des europäischen Austeritätsregimes und ihre repressive Durchsetzung durch die Regierung in Madrid begrenzen die Handlungsspielräume des neuen Munizipalismus (vgl. Zelik, Candeias/ Bruchmann). Mehr und mehr setzte sich die Ansicht durch, dass die Rückgewinnung der Politik und eine notwendige demokratische Transformation nur durch den Bruch mit dem spanischen Staat zu erreichen sei. Dabei bestanden bis zuletzt durchaus Unterscheide in der strategischen Ausrichtung. Während die basisdemokratische Candidatura d´Unitat Popular (kurz CUP) schon immer für die Unabhängigkeit eintrat, vertraten Barcelona en Comù und ihr katalanisches Gegenstück En Comù Podem (der Zusammenschluss der regionalen Bewegungsplattformen und linken Parteien) eher das Recht auf die Abstimmung, ohne selbst für die Loslösung Kataloniens einzutreten. Denn nationalistische Aufladungen zerrissen über viele Jahre und Jahrzehnte die Linke im spanischen Staat und überlagerten soziale und andere Konfliktlinien. Ein Erfolg der 15M-Bewegung war daher auch, dass hier erstmals seit langem wieder eine übergreifende Mobilisierung und Organisierung gelang. Der Aufwind der neuen Unabhängigkeitsbewegung, die eben keineswegs nur von der Linken getragen wird, sondern von dem starken Bündnis Junts pel Sí (Katalanisch für: ›Zusammen für Ja‹, abgekürzt JxSí), drohte nun wieder wie ein Spaltpilz zu wuchern, das Erreichte in Frage zu stellen. Der Minimalkompromiss, der auch von den gesamtspanischen Parteien Podemos und Izquierda Unida getragen wird, bestand in der Verteidigung des Rechts auf Abstimmung. Doch schon seit den harten repressiven Maßnahmen...

This article examines the nature of the economic crisis that has formed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is justified that this crisis, called the coronomic crisis, is in fact atypical. The coronomic crisis is fundamentally different from other atypical economic crises. The coronomic crisis did not originate in the economy itself and its completion depends only on the success of medicine in the fight against the coronavirus. Anti-crisis economic measures in the context of this crisis are aimed at social assistance to needy members of society and support for those firms that have suspended or reduced their activities due to the pandemic. The coronomic crisis forced us to take a fresh look at the globalization process. The process of forced de-globalization caused by it is temporary, since overcoming the pandemic is possible only on the basis of a global approach. Atypical economic crises should be the subject of a special study for economics.

Η απότομη διακοπή πολλών οικονομιών δραστηριοτήτων τον Μάρτιο του 2020 για να αποτραπεί η εξάπλωση της πανδημίας που προκάλεσε ο Convid-19 οδήγησε σε μια ύφεση μεγαλύτερη ακόμη κι εκείνης του 2008. Όλες σχεδόν οι χώρες του κόσμου παρενέβησαν αποφασιστικά και σχετικά έγκαιρα έλαβαν μέτρα άμβλυνσης των συνεπειών που η αξία τους μέχρι τις 27 Μαρτίου ανερχόταν σε 7 τρισ. δολ. (CNN, 2020). Το ποσό ωστόσο όσο μεγάλο κι αν φαίνεται υπολείπεται των περιστάσεων μιας και δεν κατάφερε να αποτρέψει την μεγαλύτερη ύφεση από την εποχή του Δεύτερου Παγκόσμιου Πολέμου, για τις περισσότερες χώρες του κόσμου. Τα μέτρα που ανακοινώθηκαν στρέφονταν κυρίως σε τρεις κατευθύνσεις: Πρώτο, άμεσες εισοδηματικές ενισχύσεις, δεύτερο, παρατάσεις στην εξόφληση φορολογικών και ασφαλιστικών υποχρεώσεων προς το δημόσιο και σπανίως προς τις τράπεζες και, τρίτο, παροχή εγγυήσεων για δάνεια κι ευνοϊκότεροι όροι δανεισμού.
Η πείρα του 2008 έδειξε ότι η πλημμυρίδα νέων δανείων μπορεί βραχυπρόθεσμα να εγγυήθηκε την αποπληρωμή προηγούμενων δανείων, μακροπρόθεσμα ωστόσο οδήγησε στην υπερχρέωση και αύξησε την αστάθεια του συστήματος. Μείωσε την ικανότητα ακόμη και κυρίαρχων κρατών να αντεπεξέρχονται σε εσωτερικά και εξωτερικά οικονομικά σοκ. Χαρακτηριστική περίπτωση είναι οι χώρες του ευρωπαϊκού Νότου. Από την άλλη, όπου εφαρμόστηκαν δημοσιονομικά μέτρα με την μορφή άμεσων ενισχύσεων επέτρεψαν την ταχύτερη έξοδο από την κρίση. Χαρακτηριστική περίπτωση είναι η Κίνα και σε μικρότερο βαθμό οι ΗΠΑ.
Μέχρι στιγμής, η προτίμηση που δείχνουν τα ευρωπαϊκά όργανα και πολλές κυβερνήσεις σε δάνεια και παρατάσεις στην εξόφληση φόρων και ασφαλιστικών
εισφορών, αφιερώνοντας ελάχιστους πόρους σε άμεσες εισοδηματικές ενισχύσεις, δεν προδιαγράφουν μηδενικές απώλειες για τους μισθωτούς, τους αυτοαπασχολούμενους και τις μικρομεσαίες επιχειρήσεις. Όλες οι εκτιμήσεις δείχνουν πώς η άρση των μέτρων περιορισμού της κυκλοφορίας θα συνοδευτεί από αυξημένη ανεργία για μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα, καθήλωση μισθών και λαϊκών εισοδημάτων και περαιτέρω μονοπώληση της αγοράς, σε βάρος των μικρομεσαίων επιχειρήσεων. Τα μέτρα οικονομικής παρέμβασης επομένως δεν κρίνονται μόνο πολύ λίγα σε σχέση με την πρόκληση, αλλά και πολύ …τοξικά.

Stressful life events can increase the risk for developing a variety of physical disorders and emotional problems. A biopsychosocial approach can help mental health professions to better understand and more effectively treat disorders that are related to severe negative life events. Biological approaches focus on suppressing emotional reactions, usually through a reliance on psychopharmacological interventions. Psychological approaches usually focus on the cognitive processes that translate stress into distress. Psychological interventions focus on changing the negative attitudes and maladaptive behaviors that aggravate most stressful situations. Social interventions focus on improving social support and involvement with agencies to confront limited finances, unemployment, and housing problems. In these times of economic crisis and severe financial hardship, psychological and social intervention strategies appear more useful than biological treatments.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the evidence about the factors shaping the police workforce, commissioned by the Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Institute for Policing Research.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the theory of strategic fit to assess the available evidence relating to reshaping the police workforce and brings together the most relevant recent reviews of police organisations and empirical studies on these issues. The use of the theory enabled the strategies that have been adopted by police agencies in recent years to be evaluated in relation to the current political and economic environment.FindingsThe authors find that here is considerable uncertainty and while there has been previous discussion on the benefits of larger or smaller forces there is not robust evidence that a particular force size is optimal for either efficacy or efficiency, although very small forces may struggle in some ways. There is also mixed evidence about whether inc...

This paper analyzes the laws and policies employed by the Puerto Rican government to address the economic and financial crisis that has been affecting Puerto Rico since 2005. This analysis is built upon the concept of the internal state of exception; a concept that aims to provide a better understanding of the correlation between neoliberalism, colonialism, economy, and law. This paper proposes: 1) a depiction of the state of exception and its uses as an economic and financial crisis management dispositive; 2) an exposition of the Puerto Rican government's uses of the internal state of exception as a dispositive to tackle the eco nomic and financial crisis between 2005 and 2016; and 3) an analysis of the uses of the inter nal state of exception by the Puerto Rican government in 2017. Thus, this paper reinterprets the uses of the state of exception as a strategy to manage economic and fiscal crises from a colonial and global south experience and proposes a new understanding of this legal and political paradigm.

El gobierno de las grandes corporaciones (gubernamentalidad corporativa), conformado
históricamente, que fue transformando la sociedad en su conjunto, en un gobierno sobre
todos los demás, induciendo el desarrollo de una serie de aparatos del gobierno y de
saberes. Teniendo como eje central a la economía, que se materializa en el
neoliberalismo, y es a partir de 1971 con el abandono del patrón-oro, cuando esta nueva
gubernamentalidad comienza su periodo de consolidación.
En estos casi cincuenta años, se desarrolla de la mano de la gubernamentalidad
corporativa, la mayor desigualdad económica, una enorme precarización de la clase
trabajadora y el fuerte incremento de los costes sociales del capitalismo. Este trabajo
describe el proceso de concentración de la riqueza y sus efectos en la sociedad.
También en este periodo, se produce el desplazamiento del eje central del capitalismo y
de su sistema de apropiación, como lo fue el sistema de producción capitalista, por la
apropiación mediante el sistema financiero-monetario (apropiación indirecta). Junto al
traspaso de la planificación del Estado a manos de las empresas privadas.
Finalmente este artículo, describe las debilidades del actual sistema de apropiación
capitalista y el fin del imperio financiero angloamericano.

Drawing both on social movement studies and labour studies, this article investigates the kind of people who join trade union-staged marches during the current crisis, looking at the presence of (politicized) grievances, collective identity and the embeddedness of mobilization. Data were taken from surveys conducted during 13 marches organized by the main trade unions in five European countries. They show that participants in union-staged demonstrations in countries in which a corporatist model dominates and trade unions have a tradition of business unionism (Belgium and the Netherlands) are characterized by higher political trust, more moderate positions on the left– right continuum and stronger organizational ties. On the other hand, in countries in which unions are less institutionally recognized and with a tradition of oppositional unionism (Italy and Spain), participants in union-staged demonstrations are more mistrustful of politics, located more to the left and rely more upon informal social networks to mobilize. The United Kingdom falls between these two poles.

This work constitutes a theoretically-informed empirical analysis of the spatial characteristics of the short-term rentals’ market and explores their linkage with shifts in the wider housing market within the context of a south-eastern EU metropolis. The same research objective has been pursued for a variety of international paradigms; however, to the best of our knowledge, there has not been a thorough and systematic study for Athens and its neighborhoods. With a theoretical framework that draws insight from the political-economic views of Critical Geography, this work departs from an assessment of Airbnb listings, and proceeds inquiring the expansion of the phenomenon with respect to the rates of long-term rent levels in the neighborhoods of Central Athens, utilizing relevant data. The geographical framework covers the City of Athens as a whole, an area undergoing profound transformations in recent years, stemming from diverse factors that render the city one of the most dynamic destinations of urban tourism and speculative land investment. The analysis reveals a prominent expansion of the short-term rental phenomenon across the urban fabric, especially taking ground in hitherto underexploited areas. This expansion is multifactorial, asynchronous and exhibits signs of positive relation with the long-term rentals shifts; Airbnb not only affects already gentrifying neighborhoods, but contributes to a housing market disruption in non-dynamic residential areas.

The recent economic crisis provided a shock to the system, and led
governments to scramble for solutions to problems of falling
economic growth, high unemployment and weak job creation.
Many European governments responded to protectionist calls by
restricting immigration policies, even towards the highly skilled.
Yet countries have faced different challenges and thus the cross-national variation in the demand for policy closure or openness is
remarkable. Some seized the opportunity to restrict their high-skilled
immigration policies, while others took advantage of the
crisis for further liberalisation. The article explores different
reasons for this variation, ranging from socio-economic conditions,
the inflow of labour migrants to the role of labour market
institutions and political actors. Countries badly affected by the
crisis and with a recent influx of labour migrants were more likely
to respond to mobilised groups lobbying for restrictive policies
than those countries weathering the crisis relatively better but
suffering from continuing labour shortages. The article examines
the changing conditions and the role of mobilised stakeholders to
explain policy change in selected European countries. It also
presents an updated index on states’ openness to high-skilled
immigrants to measure change over time. The findings are based
on position statements of stakeholders, official documents and
media coverage.