ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Greece's political economy in the post-war era (1945-1974) and the early post-junta period (1974-1985) to map out the political and economic developments that shaped clientelist politics. The Greek post-war economic model opted for policies of state intervention in the economy that generated elite-level rent seeking. After 9 years of Nazi occupation and the Greek Civil War, Greece embarked on a model of state-sponsored growth aided by US financial assistance. At a time when the state was creating large monopolies in the public utility sector and was building the basic infrastructure in electricity, telecommunications and railways, the Greek industry benefitted from abundant and cheap labor and developed labor-intensive activities producing low added-value goods. In Greek politics, the Civil War generated an iron division between those on the winning political center-right and those on the defeated political left under the leadership of the Communist Party.
