{
  "title": "Greece: First Post-Program Monitoring Discussions-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Greece",
  "publication": "IMF Staff Country Reports, March 12, 2019",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2019/03/08/greece-first-post-program-monitoring-discussions-press-release-staff-report-and-statement-by-46654",
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  "summary": "This paper discusses Greece’s First Post-Program Monitoring discussions. The economic recovery in Greece is accelerating and broadening. Growth and job creation in Greece are expected to accelerate further in 2019. However, vulnerabilities remain significant and downside risks are rising.",
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    {
      "heading": "Executive summary and near-term outlook",
      "content": "- The economic recovery in Greece is accelerating and broadening.\n- Growth and job creation in Greece are expected to accelerate further in 2019.\n- Medium-term public debt repayment capacity remains robust, but is subject to rising risks amid still significant vulnerabilities.\n- Downside risks are rising."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key vulnerabilities and risks",
      "content": "- Significant remaining vulnerabilities persist despite recovery.\n- Rising wage pressures could negatively affect competitiveness and employment if not countered by reforms.\n- Banking-sector weaknesses: slow cleanup of bank balance sheets, impaired lending, and a weak payment culture amplify financial-sector and macroeconomic risks.\n- Public debt repayment capacity, while robust in the medium term, faces exposure to these vulnerabilities and rising risks."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy priorities and recommendations",
      "content": "- Enhance labor market flexibility.\n- Boost productivity and competitiveness.\n- Reconsider recent changes in collective bargaining policies.\n- Press ahead with the unfinished reform agenda to mitigate negative competitiveness and employment effects from rising wage pressures.\n- Speed up efforts to clean up bank balance sheets, restore lending, and improve Greece’s weak payment culture."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Focus of the discussions",
      "content": "- Policies to promote stronger growth and strengthen the economy’s resilience were central to the First Post-Program Monitoring discussions.\n- The discussion report emphasizes the importance of labor-market reform and measures to enhance competitiveness and financial-sector stability.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- 1grcea2019001\n  - 1grcea2019001 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - 1grcea2019001 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}"
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    "Published: March 12, 2019",
    "Series: IMF Staff Country Reports",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498302579.002",
    "The economic recovery in Greece is accelerating and broadening.",
    "Growth and job creation in Greece are expected to accelerate further in 2019.",
    "Medium-term public debt repayment capacity remains robust, but is subject to rising risks amid still significant vulnerabilities.",
    "Downside risks are rising.",
    "Significant remaining vulnerabilities persist despite recovery.",
    "Rising wage pressures could negatively affect competitiveness and employment if not countered by reforms.",
    "Enhance labor market flexibility.",
    "Boost productivity and competitiveness.",
    "Reconsider recent changes in collective bargaining policies.",
    "Press ahead with the unfinished reform agenda to mitigate negative competitiveness and employment effects from rising wage pressures.",
    "Speed up efforts to clean up bank balance sheets, restore lending, and improve Greece’s weak payment culture.",
    "Policies to promote stronger growth and strengthen the economy’s resilience were central to the First Post-Program Monitoring discussions.",
    "The discussion report emphasizes the importance of labor-market reform and measures to enhance competitiveness and financial-sector stability.",
    "**1grcea2019001**"
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