Institutional Dynamics and Economic Development in Greece: An Acemoglian Approach

Abstract

The evolution of institutions is a theoretical field of increasing interest today. Socio-economic development in the institutional approach results mainly from the historical unfolding and quality of institutions. This paper aims to highlight Daron Acemoglu’s institutional approach, which appears to be gaining prominence gradually, and propose a new theoretical perception of the developmental process of the Greek socio-economic system. It first analyses Acemoglu’s theoretical contribution, it then compares the ‘Acemoglian’ to other approaches and suggests that the analysis of inclusive and extractive institutions based on historically-significant virtuous and vicious circles has value for the Greek case. While several studies tend to focus on the macroeconomic and macro-financial symptoms of the Greek crisis, an evolutionary approach of the deeper institutional dynamics seems to offer a required reposition. We describe and recommend the development and underdevelopment process in terms of an ‘institutionally adaptive socio-economic system’ and ‘competitiveness web’. These findings indicate that development takes place over historically-significant periods, through complex processes of selection and diffusion of institutional restructurings, and that civil societies are responsible for the political forces who represent them, at least in democratic regimes. In the case of Greece, the proposal to utilise an approach of an ‘institutionally adaptive socio-economic system’ can give a repositioned theoretical perception, especially nowadays when the institutional and evolutionary socio-economic analytical classes seem to be gaining interest and prominence.

Weathering the storm: talent management in internationally oriented Greek small and medium-sized enterprises

“…This is in line with the general conceptualisation of talent in the SME context (see Krishnan and Scullion, 2017). One possible interpretation of this rather subjective approach to talent might be that in an institutional environment of reforms such as that of Greece (Vlados and Chatzinikolaou, 2020), what is considered a critical position today might well vary from what will be considered a key position tomorrow. It is also possible to explain that since Greek SMEs work in a volatile environment where changes are common, it is imperative to have a workforce that is good natured, skilled and adaptable.…”

“…There could be three explanations as to why SMEs adopt a less strategic approach to talent acquisition, all of which relate to institutional context. The first of these relates to the Greek institutional environment, which is characterised by reforms (Vlados and Chatzinikolaou, 2020), renewal of temporary contracts, relaxed dismissals (OECD, 2018b) and increases in the number of temporary or part-time members of the workforce who earn a minimum wage (Kretsos and Vogiatzoglou, 2015). These factors may all serve to deter talented individuals who are considering employment in Greek SMEs.…”

“…In response to this question, provisional descriptions from data excerpts (the closed economy, unwillingness to invest and labour laws, amongst others) first not only suggested the country's institutional context but also other themes including online advertising and referralwhich align with known talent acquisition methods (see Table 2). For talent development, the provisional responses uncovered department level, employee level, training method and evaluation, amongst others, all of which are subject to Greece's institutional constraints (Vlados and Chatzinikolaou, 2020). Following the naming of codes and construction of categories, we reviewed the data carefully to make sure that crucial narratives, accounts and excerpts fit well within each category.…”

“…The Greek crisis had a strong institutional dimension (Vlados and Chatzinikolaou, 2020) due to the country's weak institutional system. Analysts highlighted a number of "civic pathogenies" including political corruption, populism, clientelistic relations with specific interest groups (Theocharis and Deth, 2015); the asymmetrical institutional framework of the Eurozone (Pagoulatos, 2020) and Greece's competitiveness model (Pitelis, 2012).…”

“…During this important period for Greece, a number of significant institutional changes and restructurings were implemented (Vlados and Chatzinikolaou, 2020). The Troika deemed the Greek labour market to be overly regulated, and in order to rectify the situation, they instituted a set of major labour market reforms (OECD, 2018b).…”