A number of Greek-specific and European factors account for this large economic cost and the lagging behind other euro area countries:  First, the size and speed of the fiscal consolidation were unprecedented, explaining why the recession was so deep compared with other programme countries.
This primarily had to do with the fact that the initial macro imbalances were much higher in Greece than in those other countries. Second, the fiscal multipliers turned out to be higher than initially anticipated, implying that the reduction in primary deficits had a larger recessionary impact on the economy.