he paper deals with public sector reforms in Greece. The reforms are divided into three periods; the first are the 1980s when only limited reform measures were undertaken, with no or limited results. Real reforms were initiated in the second reform period ranging from the beginning of the 1990s until 2010. At the time, Greece implemented various reform measures: it conducted extensive privatization, made attempts to increase the accountability and transparency of its public sector, there were attempts to simplify administrative procedures, and there was the introduction of one-stop shops. Furthermore, in the 1990s, local and regional self-government was drastically reformed. The paper concentrates mainly on the explanation of the Greek privatization policy, the limited reforms
of the civil service and all the changes in the local self-government. Despite the reforms, in 2010, Greece faced an economic break down and in order to cope with this crisis new reform measures of the entire public sector were initiated. The pending question is whether these new reforms will manage to change the main characteristics of the Greek public sector – a high level of centralization and corruption, overstaffed but inefficient public administration and great inertia in
implementation of all the reform measures. The result is still unclear, but so far, there are two possible scenarios. According to the first one, Greece will »Hellenize« these new reform measures, adapt them to the present characteristics of its public sector and the long lasting effect of the reform will fail. According to the second scenario, if the Greek government implements the measures correctly and without excitation, the reforms can push Greece into the right direction and help it overcome some major longstanding problems.