The paper provides a structural and political account of financial interventionism in Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal and Greece) and examines competing explanations for financial liberalization. It focuses on the economic and political objectives underlying financial reform, and the costs and...

In this paper we estimate the degree of bank market power during the periods of financial reform in each European country and subsequently we analyze the political and institutional sources of bank competition, distinguishing between the EU15 and CEE subgroups. A positive linear relationship...

Abstract Following their EU15 counterparts, the banking systems of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries underwent extensive reform since the 1990s. In this paper we estimate the degree of bank market power during the periods of financial reform in each European country, and subsequently...

In the post-Constitution EU, the rotating Presidency would be replaced by a hybrid system combining a rotating component with the establishment of a permanent President for the European Council. Using a principal-agent framework, we look at the supply and demand for formal leadership in the new...

The EMU fiscal adjustment paths of the four Southern Europe members (Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal – SE-4) vary along two dimensions: a) cross-temporal (pre- and post-EMU accession) and b) cross-country. We account for the cross-temporal variation by distinguishing between the ‘hard’...

The aim of this country report for Greece is to present and examine key patterns and trends in the inequality ‘drivers’, highlight their potential impacts in the social, political and cultural spheres and the available evidence in that regard, and point to the role that various interest...

We use a public interest approach to assess the impact of weak regulation and troubled labor relations on the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) market and social performance since 1992. Our findings confirm that regulation in tandem with reduced state ownership generally improves...

We use a public interest approach to assess the impact of weak regulation and troubled labor relations on the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) market and social performance since 1992. Our findings confirm that regulation in tandem with reduced state ownership generally improves...