The Greek financial crisis shows the need for reliable and independent economic data, the country\u2019s economy and finance minister said Thursday, as the US grapples with a similar lack of confidence in government statistics.<\/p>\n
Investors\u2019 inability to trust official numbers \u2014 as a result of data falsifications<\/a> and severe revisions<\/a> \u2014 was a factor contributing to the Greek debt crisis in the early 2010s, which required multiple international bailouts and years of punishing economic reforms.<\/p>\n \u201cArguably, what you can\u2019t measure, you can\u2019t reform,\u201d Kyriakos Pierrakakis said at Semafor\u2019s World Economy Summit. \u201cYou need to have the same objective data on top of which you can argue, on top of which you can disagree, but you need the basis of objectivity when you\u2019re having the discussion\u2026 This is why we need those authorities to be independent.\u201d<\/p>\n US economic data is currently facing similar scrutiny; President Donald Trump fired of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in August, after the agency published jobs figures that missed expectations. The reliability of US economic data had been questioned before<\/a> \u2014 particularly, common and significant revisions to jobs numbers \u2014 but Trump\u2019s pressure has raised concerns that the public may not trust data that will begin to come out after the US government shutdown ends. <\/p>\n The shutdown is also preventing key data releases as federal workers remain furloughed \u2014 an issue that could leave the Federal Reserve in the dark when it comes to rates decisions.<\/p>\n