But by 2007, Greece was spending more than 14% of GDP in excess of what it was producing, the largest such gap in Europe – more than twice that of Spain and 55% higher than Ireland's. In Spain and Ireland, though, the gap reflected a construction boom; euro accession suddenly gave people access to much cheaper mortgages.
但到2007年，希腊支出超过产出部分是GDP的14%多，为欧洲之最——是西班牙的两倍，比爱尔兰也高出55%。在西班牙和爱尔兰，这一差异体现的是建筑业繁荣；使用欧元一夜之间让人们能够获得便宜得多的按揭。相反，在希腊，这一差异主要是财政赤字，大部分用在了消费而不是投资上。