The Bailout Programmes in the ‘Intermediate’ Economies

This chapter analyses the bailout programmes’ conditionality and comparatively assesses their implementation in Greece and Portugal. It shows what policies were introduced and to what extent these policies were implemented in Greece and Portugal to recover from the crisis. It focuses on the internal devaluation policies and the structural reforms in the labour and product markets. Based on a comparative analysis, this chapter brings to light the economic and political challenges, delays, and omissions in the bailout programmes’ implementation in both countries. Despite the above, evidence shows that the Greek and Portuguese governments have implemented most of the internal devaluation policies and reforms since 2010.