April 13-15, 2005
Locations: MIT Sloan, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Business School (Check poster for details)

Speaker:
Peter Doukas, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Econony, Republic of Greece

Title:
"Regaining Competitiveness: The Greek Plan "

>>> Download Poster of Event <<<
>>> Download the Greek Government's Executive Summary of the State Budget <<<

Abstract:
Greece struggles to regain its social and economic competitiveness facing an approximately $12B deficit and trying to balance a $40B+ annual state budget. The economy is dominated by the banking sector while small and medium enterprises, which account for the majority for employment in the country, fail to remain competitive internationally.

Non-performing consumer credit is on the rise as citizens try to cope with an ever increasing cost of living. The new government has drafted a plan that focuses on increasing transparency and reducing conflicts of interest in government-related economic activities. Tax and other incentives are designed to increase foreign direct investment in the tourism, energy and real estate industries, shaping a new economic landscape. Despite these measures, the challenge of managing and changing deeply entrenched attitudes and business practices remains.

Speaker bio:
Petros Doukas, a former banker and business executive with a PhD in Economics from NYU, is responsible for the administration of the Greek state budget. He is also responsible for the state Treasury, the Public Lands Fund, the Public Employees' Pension Fund and the management of state debt.

Acknowledgements:
The series of events was made possible with contributions by:

Eoin Hogain
Georgia Kioulia
Catherine Mc Laughlin
Michael Moutselos
Markos Petrocheilos
Doina Rares

Co-ordinator: Konstantinos Tsakonas, tsakonas@mit.edu

For more information about this event contact the MIT-Greece working group.