Public-sector reform: Lessons from the privatisation experiment in Greece.

This paper explores the process of public sector reform in Greece through the lens of privatisation. It is suggested that the transformation of the domestic post-war interventionist state into the current market-oriented paradigm has been disrupted and dependent on changing reform rationales. Along with the effect of historical dynamics on the direction and scale of change, the explanatory power of external determinants of reform is stressed. Findings reflect a direct linkage between the intensity of external pressure and the pace of reforms. The sustainability of gradual privatisation reforms seems more certain than the outcomes of fast-track privatisations under policy conditionality. • Privatisation in Greece has been largely the result of the interplay between domestic politics and supranational agendas. • Different reform drivers and privatisation rationales have led to multi-speed adjustments of the public sector. • The implementation of radical privatisations required the creation of new institutions in the form of arm's length bodies. • The sustainability of fast-track privatisations seems less certain than the outcomes of gradual privatisation reforms. • Weak institutional capacity has slowed down the implementation or undermined the outcomes of privatisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]