Title: I HELLENIKÈ ECONOMÌA METÀ TO 1950
TÒMOS Α. 1950-1973
[THE GREEK ECONOMY SINCE 1950
VOLUME A. 1950-1973: Growth, monetary stability
and state intervention]
in Greek
Author: Chrysafis H. Iordanoglou
Publisher: Bank of Greece (Centre for Culture,
Research and Documentation)
Year of publication: 2020
Number of pages: 608
Dimensions: 24 x 17 cm
Type of book: Economic history
ISBN: 978-618-5536-00-8
Central distribution:
a. National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation
(ΜΙΕΤ) in Athens (13 Amerikis Str., tel.: +30 210
3614143) and Thessaloniki (11 Tsimiski Str., tel.:
+30 2310 288036)
b. Ι. Nikolòpoulos & Co. SA – Ekdòseis tou
Eikostoù Pròtou (9 Ζaloggou Str., Athens, tel.: +30
210 3800520).
About the book
This is the first volume of Chrysafis Iordanoglou’s economic history of post-war Greece, which
covers the period between 1950 and 1973. The book is addressed to readers who are familiar with
some basic economic terminology, without necessary being experts in the field. The author aims
to paint an accurate and detached picture of how things turned out in Greece’s post-war economy,
but also explain why they turned outthe way they did. Thus, the book is not just a rich source of
information on economic developments and statistical data on Greece; it also provides a narrative
about the country’s overall economic performance and its relation to the economic policies
pursued during those formative decades in the country’s recent history.
From the back cover
Greece’s 1953-1973 economic policy regime– despite its steadfast focus on the safeguarding of
property rights – did not function as a purely free market economy. Interventionism was strong
and some of the mechanisms put in place were incompatible with the operation of a free market
economy. But the regime was logical and coherent and can safely be said to have produced more
results than were expected from it. It rightly judged modernization and productive reorganization
to be the country’s main economic priority at the time. To this end, it created the sense of stability
necessary for investment activity to flourish and contributed –in a way that was consistent with its
intentions– to rapid economic development,driven mainly the broader industrial sector and hight
investment. This strategy of industrialization, pursued throughout the period, bore its richest fruit
in the years 1961-1973. At the same time, the regime managed to combine rapid growth with low
inflation and a relatively low current account deficit.
Biographical note of the author
Chrysafis Iordanoglou was born in Thessaloniki in 1952. He attended the Thessaloniki Experimental
School before studying Law at the University of Thessaloniki and economics at the London School
of Economics, where he also received his Master’s (MScEcon). He holds a PhD in economics from
Queen Mary College of the University of London. Upon his return to Greece, he taught at the
University of Crete. He then taught for 16 years – until his retirement–at the Panteion University of
Social and Political Sciences. He has written extensively on various aspects of Greece’s post-war
economic history; this book is the fullest articulation of his research and work over all these years.