Griechischer Braindrain. Junge Menschen verlassen Griechenland aufgrund von schlechten Job-Aussichten

Stranguliert durch ein hartes Sparprogramm sowie durch die Mitgliedschaft in der europäischen Währungsunion, die eine exportgeleitete wirtschaftliche Erholung verunmöglicht, stehen der griechischen Wirtschaft harte Jahre bevor. Ohne die Milliarden and Hilfsgeldern, die von der EU im Rahmen des Rettungsschirmes für angeschlagene EU-Staaten zur Verfügung gestellt werden, könnte Griechenland seine Schulden längst nicht mehr bedienen. Die Entwicklung der Zins-Spreads auf griechische Staatsanleihen gibt ebenfalls wenig Anlass zur Hoffnung.

Die junge Generation reagiert auf die tristen Aussichten auf dem Arbeitsmarkt bereits mit Abwanderung:

“In other countries, young people are encouraged,” Ms. Mallosi said. “In Greece, they are held back.”

Like Ms. Mallosi, an increasing number of young college graduates are leaving Greece as a deepening recession chokes a job market already crippled by an entrenched culture of cronyism. And the outlook for a turnaround is not good. The national debt, estimated at 300 billion euros (nearly $400 billion), is larger than Greece’s gross domestic product, suggesting that years of austerity budgets lie ahead. On top of that, a string of political corruption scandals has left many young Greeks disillusioned about the future.

According to a survey published last month, 7 out of 10 Greek college graduates want to work abroad. Four in 10 are actively seeking jobs abroad or are pursuing further education to gain a foothold in the foreign job market.

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The latest official figures show that unemployment among 15- to 24-year-olds was 29.8 percent in June, compared with about 20 percent across the European Union. The Greek figure was an improvement from 32.5 percent in May as summer jobs kicked in but still well above the 22.9 percent in the month a year earlier.

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In the 1950s and 1960s, thousands of people left Greece to seek a better life in the United States, Australia or elsewhere in Europe. During the booming 1980s and 1990s, after Greece joined the European Union, many returned to a thriving economy. The pride generated by the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 spurred thousands more Greeks to come home.

But, as in Ireland, the party did not last. In 2008, the first signs of a recession appeared. Earlier this year, the debt crisis required Greece to seek 110 billion euros in loan guarantees from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, which demanded an array of budget cuts in return.

Der mit dieser Abwanderung einhergehende Braindrain wird sich volkswirtschaftlich ebenfalls negativ bemerkbar machen. Es zeigt sich die Tragik eines Landes, das der talentierten und gebildeten jungen Generationen keine Perspektive auf Fortschritt und Wohlstand bieten kann.