{"id":1387,"date":"2020-09-04T12:20:38","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T09:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/?p=1387"},"modified":"2020-09-16T12:21:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T09:21:56","slug":"economic-diversification-is-vital-to-greece-covid-19-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/economic-diversification-is-vital-to-greece-covid-19-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic diversification is vital to Greece COVID-19 recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greece emerged as an outlier in the European fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The government responded swiftly and managed the health outbreak. Until the last week of August, Greece counted 255 deaths due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, economic impacts are dire. Estimates from the European Commission predict 9% of GDP contraction in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Greek economy relies heavily on the tourism industry, a sector badly hit by lockdown measures and international travel bans. In 2019, tourism and related activities accounted for 18% of the country\u2019s GDP<\/a>. Consumer service businesses, that since 2015 have led the slow economic recovery of the nation\u2019s decade-debt crisis, have also been strongly affected. Private consumption was reduced by 6% in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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OECD estimates 9% of GDP contraction in a single-hit scenario in Greece. Source: OECD2020 database.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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With travel restrictions still in place globally, it is unlikely international tourists will return at the same pace. On the consumer\u2019s behavior side, sentiments of fear and uncertainty have pushed towards saving and long-term investments.<\/p>\n

Greece faces the challenge of diversifying its economy and improve productivity. Emerging sectors, such as food processing, logistics, which include transportation and supply chain coordination, and investments in innovation clusters, are potential assets. But Greece needs to undertake institutional reforms, adapt the job market, and finance digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n

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Greek\u2019s GDP relies on the tourism industry, a sector badly hit by travel bans and social distancing restrictions. Photo: Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Compete.GR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Compete.GR, the Council on Competitiveness<\/a> of Greece, is an independent organization that has raised awareness on the role and importance of productivity to foster inclusive prosperity, growth, and rising income levels.<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s foundation happened in 2018 after an agreement among 14 Greek partners. The idea emerged following a deal between the GFCC President Deborah Wince-Smith and the AmCham President Simos Anastasopoulos (currently President of Compete.GR).<\/p>\n

Compete.GR manages strategic partnerships with stakeholders across sectors, such as banks, businesses, universities, government agencies, and other professional associations. The council also produces reports and guides on competitiveness<\/a>, and it has been developing productivity monitoring mechanisms in partnership with the national government.<\/p>\n

Since March, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Compete.GR started to hold fortnightly panels to help its members and the local community to navigate the crisis, transition to remote work, and discuss critical economic sectors\u2019 future, such as banking, finance, and tourism.<\/p>\n

For Venetia Koussia, executive director of Compete.GR, building a robust economy in the pandemic aftermath relies on investing in digital infrastructure and upskilling the workforce to match market demand. Such reforms can empower small-medium enterprises (SMEs), creating added value, and encourage international investments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the moment to re-imagine the Greek model\u201d, says Venetia. She envisions the crisis as an opportunity to restructure the Greek GDP. For her, the pandemic-recovery demonstrates that reforms increase competitiveness and social capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to add value to the GDP by prioritizing higher-added value sectors, such as products and services\u201d, Venetia explains. \u201cThe strategic move will diversify risks and improve our socio-economic competitiveness before the next crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n

In her view, national and regional policies focused on competitiveness can attract foreign investors interested in innovative know-how, not only capital. She expects a positive outcome that can help to develop the local community\u2019s capabilities, such as workforce upskill.<\/p>\n

Opportunity areas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Agri-food and energy are two industry sectors that can play a key role in the Greek economic recovery.<\/p>\n

Greece produces various essential food crops and farming, such as fruits, olive oil, and aromatic herbs. The sector accounts for 3,6% of the country\u2019s total GDP<\/a>. For the past decade, the total income from agribusiness per year has been around 10 billion euros<\/a>. Small companies with no more than nine employees respond to 50% of the industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Investments in AgriTech can boost Greek economic competitiveness. Photo: Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u201cWe lack productivity in the small and medium companies\u201d, explains Venetia. “Netherland and Isreal have a better performance per acre”.<\/p>\n

An alternative is establishing clusters to include SMEs in multistakeholder partnerships. \u201cDigitization should be seen as an opportunity, not as a threat,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

On the energy front, Greece relies on fossil fuels, which account for 50% of the total primary energy supply<\/a>. Only coal reaches up to 30%.<\/a> The energy condition leaves the country with a high carbon footprint and dependency on energy imports that unfolds in the industrial sector\u2019s financial burden, limiting price competition.<\/p>\n

Reforming the energy market to pave a way to a low-carbon economy can create a win-win situation, providing an environmentally sustainable outcome and affordable costs for businesses.<\/p>\n

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Solar panels in Serres, Greece. Photo: Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Policies aimed to attract investment in renewable sources of energy has been in the government\u2019s agenda since 2019 drew from the Clean Energy for All Europeans package<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As highlighted by Venetia, it is time for the Greek government to complete and implement plans aligned with the European Green Deal and The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cSustainability and social cohesion should become an integral part of Greece\u2019s recovery plan,\u201d argues Venetia.<\/p>\n

The article was published at https:\/\/blog.thegfcc.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greece emerged as an outlier in the European fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The government responded swiftly and managed the health outbreak. Until the last week of August, Greece counted 255 deaths due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, economic impacts are dire. Estimates from the European Commission predict 9% of GDP contraction in 2020. The Greek economy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-directors-desk","category-30","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1390,"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions\/1390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/competegr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}