Lecture by Dr. Andreas Kakridis on American aid in Greece’s post-war economy at the Consulate General of Greece in New York

The Columbia University’s Program in Hellenic Studies and the Consulate General of Greece in New York invited Dr. Andreas Kakridis, scientific advisor to Bank of Greece’s Historical Archive for a lecture on Greece’s economic history (November 26th). Titled “Other people’s money and reforms,” the lecture focused on assessing the impact of American aid on the Greek economy during the post-war era and the time after.

Combining quantitative results from a newly constructed database with qualitative material from contemporary publications, policy documents, and archives, Kakridis gave important insight into the volume and nature of American aid, as well as a detailed description of its influence on economic performance.

A key element was to define the framework within which the aid was distributed and absorbed by the countries. The conditions, institutions, and policies attached to the aid determined the success of the US mission, most of the time used as a leverage to influence domestic policymaking and balancing of powers. In the end, the success of the mission led to bringing about a painful but much-needed stabilization, together with pressing but absolutely necessary reforms.

Andreas Kakridis specializes in Greek economic history and the history of 20th-century macroeconomics and development economics. He is an assistant professor of economic history at the Ionian University in Greece and Scientific Advisor to the Historical Archive of the Bank of Greece. He has also been a visiting fellow at the University of Columbia in the city of New York (2014-2015). He is currently completing a book on the role of American aid in Greece’s post-war economic recovery.

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