Book looks at history of the drachma
he Drachma from the Phoenix to the Euro» is the title of a book detailing the history of the Greek monetary system from the beginnings of the modern Greek state. Its authors, Professor Giorgos Alogoskoufis, of Athens Economics University and a parliamentary deputy, his student at the university and now lecturer in Economic Science there, the economist Sofia Lazaretou, mention in the prologue that the book is not only aimed at their colleagues but at every Greek interested in the history of the drachma. In 1990, Lazaretou wrote her doctoral thesis on Greek monetary and foreign exchange policy in the 19th and early 20th centuries and, in 1994, they made a joint decision to go ahead and write the book. After the June 2000 European Union summit in Portugal, when the decision was taken to include Greece in the eurozone on January 1 2001, and for the drachma to be phased out by February 28, 2002, the writers decided to reissue the book to include the period after 1996 and as an opportunity, as they said, to correct omissions and errors. This second edition was launched by Livanis Publications on April 22. The successful launch was attended by politicians from all sides of the spectrum, and addressed by National Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis, parliamentary deputy and former National Economy Minister Stefanos Manos and Commercial Bank President Yiannis Stournaras.
