The lack of export growth in Greece has caused the recession there to be longer and deeper than in any comparable country.
In Asia, and in all the other countries of the European periphery, growing exports provided vital support to the economy, at least partially offsetting the reduction in demand from the government sector.
In the cases of South Korea and Thailand, five years after the financial crisis, exports had provided a contribution to growth worth about 25 percent of GDP.
In Asia, export-led growth was by the fact that the nominal exchange rate could adjust. Their currency was devalued, which made them more competitive.
Greece is the only country where exports did not make a positive contribution to growth after the financial crisis. IN fact, exports have fallen in real terms.