Αρίστος Δοξιάδης: How to grow the Greek economy.

Σε ένα νοσηρό περιβάλλον ανούσιων αντεγκλήσεων και αφορισμών, το οποίο έχει σκεπάσει όχι μόνο τον mainstream δημόσιο λόγο αλλά και την μπλογκόσφαιρα, οι ιδεολογικές ταμπέλες έχουν για μια ακόμα φορά υψώσει τεχνητά τείχη μεταξύ των υποκειμένων, με βασικό αντικειμενικό αποτέλεσμα η δημόσια συζήτηση και, κατ' επέκταση, η άσκηση πολιτικής (με τη γενικότερη έννοια, που συμπεριλαμβάνει την αντιπολίτευση, τον συνδικαλισμό κλπ) να παραμένει υπόθεση ατόμων και φορέων που εκπροσωπούν μειοψηφικές απόψεις και συμφέροντα, και να ακολουθεί την πεπατημένη διαφόρων αυτόματων πιλότων. Ο Αρίστος Δοξιάδης δημοσίευσε μία μελέτη που επιχειρεί να αναλύσει την συγκεκριμένη πραγματικότητα της ελληνικής οικονομίας, και να προτείνει λύσεις με βάση αυτήν. Η μελέτη αξίζει να διαβαστεί ολόκληρη· παραθέτω ένα απόσπασμα, όπου αναλύει τις δυνατότητες ανάπτυξης της μικρο-επιχειρηματικότητας:

2.2.3 Path 3 (Growth): Growth of micro-businesses.

The numbers are large here. Even a small increase in the average number of employees per

micro-business would make a big impact, on condition that the businesses produce

competitive products.

Very few specific provisions in the Memorandum support this path. Reforms in collective

bargaining as negotiated with the Ministry of Employment will not affect businesses of

under 50 employees, which shall still be bound by industry-wide contracts. Non-wage labor

costs remain as high as ever. The personal liability of business owners for failure is very high,

especially in small businesses. Personal income tax rates, which are most relevant for

businesses of a few employees, are prohibitive to growth (low corporate tax rates for

retained earnings are not relevant for micro business). All this must change, if enough micro-

business are to grow.

Equally, or more, important, would be a radical reduction of transaction costs. Not only is

the Greek environment extremely bureaucratic, but small firms also face inherently more

transaction costs, proportionately to their size, than bigger firms that have internalized

many transactions. They also have fewer resources to deal with bureaucracy, which means

that entrepreneurs spend an exorbitant proportion of their energy on this. Because standard

international “structural” prescriptions are weighted more to the needs of bigger firms,

eliminating such costs receives much less attention in the Memorandum than it should.

Ideally, in a friendly institutional environment, one would see in the agricultural sector

farmers combining small plots into larger viable businesses, by leasing or by cooperation. In

workshops, some innovators would hire associates to produce more sophisticated specialist

products or components. Some freelance application developers would grow into

employers. Services for tourists and for foreigners living in Greece would become more

innovative and organized, making the offerings more attractive; and so on.