Administrative, Welfare and Education Reform in the Context of Economic Crisis: Lessons from the Case of Greece, 2010-2014

Most policy reforms attempted in Greece in the context of austerity policy, effected after the country came to the brink of default in 2010, aimed at fiscal consolidation and gains in economic competitiveness. Yet, in some policy sectors, such as public administration, social welfare and public education, the logic of austerity was accompanied by other, often contradictory policy priorities. Typically such contradictory priorities were on the one hand Greece’s convergence with public policies of more advanced economies and stable national political systems of the EU and on the other hand the safeguarding of vested interests of powerful groups in administration, welfare and education. Thus some policies helped reproducing policy patterns which have led to the fiscal derailment of the Greek state and the collapse of the old bipolar party system in the wake of the economic crisis. Lessons related to the adoption of policies producing contradictory results will be drawn  on the basis of a survey of administrative, social and educational policy measures, relevant legislation and material from personal interviews with policy makers and policy analysts.