UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY
2nd International Conference on Economic and Social History
"Markets" and Politics
Private interests and public authority (18th-20th centuries)
Volos, 10-12 February 2012
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Abstracts
- George Ioannidis Creating markets out of nothing: the case of Continuing Vocational Training in Greece
The aim of the paper is to critically assess the creation and development of the continuing education market in Greece. It focuses on the logic underlying the state’s regulatory actions, as well as on the political economy which these actions have engendered. It will be argued that the development of this market can be seen as a three-stage process. The first stage was marked by the absence of effective regulation which, along with a dramatic increase in funding for training, allowed for a primitive accumulation of capital to benefit newly-founded private firms. The second stage was characterized by an increase in the state’s regulatory actions, which aimed not only at “market-clearing”, but also at guaranteeing a market-share for every member of the new market. During the third period, finally, policy would focus on the liberalization of the market. In every stage the interests of the main actors –namely those of the state, the private training centers and the social partners–, were accommodated accordingly, but this was achieved at the expense of the continuing training system’s efficiency.
