The Euro In The Context Of A Democratic Deficit-The Case Of Greece
Abstract:
The article conducts a comparative analysis of the performances of the Western European economies and the Eastern European economies on three different levels 1. Comparison between the performance of the former com munist countries and free market economies in a period 1950-1990, 2. Comparison between the performance of the former communist countries in a period 1950-1990, when they were command economies, with the performance in a period after 1990, when they became free market economies, and 3. Comparison between the former communist countries and the Western countries in a period after 1990. The Western European countries were more developed than the Eastern European countries. The least developed Western European country Italy was at the same level of development as the most developed Eastern European country Czechoslovakia. The Western European countries grew faster than the Eastern European countries in a period 1950-1990 with the exception of Yugoslavia. This means that they increased their advantage over the Eastern European countries. Therefore, divergence occurred. In a period 1990-2024, after the transition, the Eastern European countries grew faster than the Western European countries and managed to catch up. Therefore, convergence between the two groups of the countries occurred. The Eastern European countries grew faster in a period 1990-2024 than in a period 1950-1990. This would lead to a conclusion that free market economies have been superior to command economies. However, if qualitative, non-monetary indicators are used, the command economies faired much better in comparison with free market economies than when GDP per capita is used. All of them have had a high Human Development Index. This was the result of excellent health and education system. This is corroborated by the fact that after the transition health and education systems rapidly deteriorated in the former communist countries. Also, differences in distribution of income and wealth dramatically increased, particularly in Russia and Romania. A survey conducted in 2006 asked a simple question: “Life is better now than before”. The results of the survey show that a conclusion as regards the satisfaction with life after the transition is inconclusive.
