In 1974, three families with an income equal to the national average of their countries - one in Athens, the second in Dublin, and the third in Lisbon - had a child. The three children grew up, studied, entered the job market, and started their own families. Today, they are middle-aged and in good health, still living in the cities where they were born, with an income that aligns with the national average of their countries. However, although all three enjoy a higher standard of living than their parents, their living standards differ significantly. The Irish person lives 3 to 4 times better than their parents did in '74, and the Portuguese person lives 2 to 3 times better than their parents. The Greek person's standard of living, however, is only 1.2 times higher than that of their parents half a century ago.
What accounts for Greece's long-term lag compared to Ireland and Portugal, also countries on the European periphery? What did they do better than us? And what useful lessons can we draw from their experience? This book — which is also the first comparative study of Greece with other countries over the long period of the Metapolitefsi — provides answers to these three questions. "Can Greece catch up, finally approaching Europe? This book answers the difficult question with a cautiously optimistic affirmation. That is why it deserves to be read, to inspire those of us already fighting this battle, and to mobilize those who are skeptical."
