Elena Panaritis to speak on "Informality and the Euro", Woodrow Wilson Center May 6th, DC

May 5, 2010 - PRLog -- Elena Panaritis, Institutional Economist and Property Rights Reform Expert, to discuss “Informality and the Euro” at the Woodrow Wilson Center May 6th
Washington, DC
Today, the financial markets are looking beyond Greece and the ability of the Greek government to stem the crisis, and are questioning the future of the Euro zone and the ability of the EU bureaucracy to manage its weaker Members. Elena Panaritis, who has been mired in the Greek economic crisis from its early beginning, will speak at the Woodrow Wilson Center on “Informality and the Euro: The Role of Rules in Unlocking Prosperity in Southeast Europe.”  Ms. Panaritis will present a new approach through which to view and analyze the Greek experience and that of the region- one that pays close attention to institutions, rules and informality. Her methodology, Reality Check Analysis, has been called one of the best practical applications of institutional economics. It incorporates a rigorous and holistic analysis of the history of a country’s political economy, diagnosis of the institutional problems, and proposed solutions for sustainable recovery.

About the Southeast Europe Project
The Project was established in January 2005, after the merger of the Western Policy Center with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, to promote scholarly research and informed debate about the full range of U.S. political, commercial, and security, issues and interests in the eastern Mediterranean, southern Balkans, and adjacent regions. Its research and public affairs programs focus on regional and functional issues centered on Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Bulgaria, with particular attention to European Union enlargement and NATO expansion and realignment in the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century.

About Elena Panaritis
Elena Panaritis is an expert in property rights, illiquid real estate assets, and public sector management.  In more than a decade as an economist at the World Bank, she spearheaded several institutional reforms including property rights reform in Peru that was awarded International Best Practice and Innovation. Currently, Elena heads “Panel Group,” a triple-bottom line advisory group, based in Washington D.C., which invests in undervalued property and provides counsel on transforming informal real estate and related public policy. She also serves as a Special Advisor to the Greek government on public and entrepreneurial reform. Elena’s methodology, Reality Check Analysis, is considered one of the best practical applications of institutional economics. Her book Prosperity Unbound: Building Property Markets with Trust *(Palgrave Macmillan) expounds on her method and offers concrete advice to policy makers, government officials, private investors, and entrepreneurs who want to create or strengthen property markets through sound institutional reforms. She blogs at: www.prosperityunbound.com/blog.

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In more than a decade as an economist at the World Bank, Elena Panaritis spearheaded several institutional reforms including property rights reform in Peru that was awarded International Best Practice and Innovation. Currently, Elena heads “Panel Group,” a triple-bottom line advisory group, based in Washington D.C., which invests in undervalued property and provides counsel on transforming informal real estate and related public policy. She also serves as a Special Advisor to the Greek government on public and entrepreneurial reform. Elena’s methodology, Reality Check Analysis, is considered one of the best practical applications of institutional economics. Her book Prosperity Unbound: Building Property Markets with Trust *(Palgrave Macmillan) expounds on her method and offers concrete advice to policy makers, government officials, private investors, and entrepreneurs who want to create or strengthen property markets through sound institutional reforms.