In just 15 years, Greece managed to seesaw from one economic extreme to the other, from almost breaking the eurozone at the depth of its debt crisis to becoming one of the fastest growing economies in Europe in 2023, according to the IMF. Now wages are rebounding, unemployment has hit a decade low, and banks that had nearly collapsed have been cleaned up and are once again fueling the economy. In late 2023, Greece’s credit rating was bumped from junk to investment grade for the first time since 2010, signaling to foreign investors that the country is back in business. In the midst of all the good news, however, one indicator remains stuck: the 500,000 Greeks who packed up their lives and left to find economic opportunity elsewhere. They haven’t come back.

For a country of 10 million, the exodus of half a million people amounts to a meaningful percentage of the population, observes Afroditi Xydi (MBA 2022), especially considering that 67 percent of those who left hold advanced degrees. Xydi, who earned a master’s in engineering from MIT, cofounded the nonpartisan Deon Policy Institute in 2022 with the aim of enlisting the diaspora’s expertise to help speed the homeland’s return to prosperity and bring it closer to parity with its European neighbors. The nonprofit identifies challenges and opportunities, then brings together experts to draft actionable policy proposals to pitch to the government. The hope, Xydi says, is that Deon’s success could set a flywheel effect in motion, bringing Greeks back home to further strengthen the labor market and create new economic opportunities.

Getting there won’t be easy, Xydi cautions. “The crisis happened for many reasons, and what it showed the world was that there are a lot of institutional and foundational issues in Greece. There are no easy fixes for that.” Given that so many in the diaspora work in business, finance, IT, and academia, Deon Policy Institute focuses on four priorities: increasing entrepreneurial opportunities, making Greece a leading producer of renewable energy, strengthening ties between the diaspora and the home country to fuel economic growth, and upgrading the public university system.

In the case of the latter, while ancient Greece was the birthplace of academia and its educational legacy is unparalleled, the current reality is quite different: Its universities rank 41st worldwide. The country also produces disproportionate numbers of academics relative to its size, but too many of them teach and conduct research elsewhere, says Georgios Laskaris, Deon cofounder and a nuclear physicist with a PhD from Duke. “After 12 years of training in Greece, these talented individuals immigrate primarily to the United States or Europe, where they find jobs and more economic opportunity, and we lose them forever,” he explains. “Greece’s loss is these countries’ gain.”

To capitalize on this intelligence, Deon collaborated with these academics, who understand the Greek ecosystem but also have experience in other countries. Together they created a set of policy recommendations to repatriate academics through a visiting professorship program—a structure that had emerged as an emergency response to the pandemic but wasn’t expected to endure beyond it. The Ministry of Education integrated Deon’s suggestions into a sweeping set of education reforms that passed into law in March.

The administration has also implemented Deon’s recommendations to expand R&D fellowships, increase the role of visiting fellows, and improve voter registration for the diaspora’s first-ever postal vote. While the think tank is firmly nonpartisan, Xydi says the current government represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for reform in these areas, given that the trauma of the crisis and its root causes are still within recent memory. “Voters decided to elect a government headed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (MBA 1995) that is aiming to modernize the Greek state, and the government [has] an ear on the ground for new ideas,” she says. The nonprofit has also benefited from deep support within the HBS network, including Deon board member and HBS Alumni Board President Andreas Stavropoulos (MBA 1997).

A member of the Hellenic parliament, former Greek prime minister, and 2023 HBS Alumni Achievement Award recipient Antonis Samaras (MBA 1976) says the think tank is already having an impact. “Despite the crisis being over, Greece faces new challenges: dealing with the consequences of climate change, restructuring higher education, and addressing the demographic crisis. In order to face these challenges, the country needs to tap into the expertise of the diaspora to help shape effective policies. I am looking forward to seeing what they can achieve,” he says.

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