From spectator to walk-on to actor: An exploratory study of the internationalisation of Greek firms since 1989

The article follows the evolution of the Greek business activities in foreign countries. Based on two unique databases, the article acknowledges the existence of two sub-periods. More particularly, the years up to 1998 are characterized by two central elements, whose importance diminishes during the second period: the overwhelming significance of the Balkans (especially the countries bordering on Greece) and the hesitance of large Greek firms. In the second period, large firms make a dynamic entry, while some of them start behaving as real TNCs. However, the importance of small firms but also of the Balkans is preserved. As anticipated, with the shift of the morphological features of Greek entrepreneurial activity in foreign countries, the impact on the Greek economy also changes.Greece, Delocalization, Outsourcing, FDI

A comparative study of typologies for rural areas in Europe

This paper examines alternative methodologies to build a typology for rural areas in Europe. First, it reviews the methodologies that have traditionally been used to construct area typologies in various contexts. It then uses data for European NUTS3 regions to build a typology for rural areas in Europe, on the basis of their peripherality and rurality. First, an aggregative approach to building typologies is adopted, under which the well-established statistical techniques of principal components analysis and cluster analysis are employed. We then highlight the disadvantages of this approach and we present an alternative disaggregative approach to the construction of typologies for rural areas in Europe. Finally, we discuss the policy implications of our suggested typology.

Greece’s new emigration at times of crisis

Although considerable research is being carried out on the phenomenon of immigration to Greece, there is a notable lack of scientific attention on the recent resurgence of emigration at times of recession and austerity. Aiming to partly fill in this gap, this paper contextualizes the recent resurgence of emigration within Greece’s changing and complexifying migratory landscape. In so doing, and drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, the paper describes the magnitude, dynamics and main destinations of the current crisis-driven emigration and outlines its demographics makeup. It further provides evidence on the multiplicity of migration trajectories and discusses the prospect of return and the potential of the development of transnational economic ties between Greece and its highly skilled emigrants

Brain drain and the Greek crisis

In the context of the debt crisis, recession, austerity and their socio-political consequences, Greece is experiencing a new major wave of out-migration. Emigration has become a survival strategy for many people who are finding it hard to make ends meet, while, at the same time, it has also emerged as an increasingly appealing option for others in less pressing need, who see their chances of socioeconomic advancement severely reduced. One dimension of this multifaceted phenomenon concerns the emigration of graduates, which accounts for approximately two-thirds of the outflow

A comparative study of typologies for rural areas in Europe

This paper examines alternative methodologies to build a typology for rural areas in Europe. First, it reviews the methodologies that have traditionally been used to construct area typologies in various contexts. It then uses data for European NUTS3 regions to build a typology for rural areas in Europe, on the basis of their peripherality and rurality. First, an aggregative approach to building typologies is adopted, under which the well-established statistical techniques of principal components analysis and cluster analysis are employed. We then highlight the disadvantages of this approach and we present an alternative disaggregative approach to the construction of typologies for rural areas in Europe. Finally, we discuss the policy implications of our suggested typology

Young migrants’ narratives of collective identifications and belonging

The article sheds light on the intricate relationship between migration, ‘identity’ and belonging by focusing on young migrants in the context of Greek society. Based upon a qualitative study of youth identities, the key objective is to examine their collective identifications, formed through the dialectic of self-identification and categorization. The analysis of young migrants’ narratives unpacks how their sense of belonging and emotional attachments to their countries of origin and settlement are mediated by processes of racialization and ‘othering’

Mobility and Migrations in the Rural Areas of Mediterranean EU Countries

AbstractThis chapter focuses on the ambivalent nature of contemporary migrations in European rural areas. The growing presence of immigrants in these areas is a direct result of the restructuring of agriculture and global agri-food chains. Evidence indicates that while agricultural work and rural settings are decreasingly attractive to local populations, they represent a favourable environment to international newcomers, due to the higher chances to access livelihood resources. The non-visibility and informality that characterise rural settings and agricultural work arrangements provide on the one side opportunities for employment, while also fostering illegal labour practices and situations of harsh exploitation

International labour migration and food production in rural Europe: a review of the evidence

Since Hoggart and Mendoza's paper on ‘African immigrant workers in Spanish agriculture' in Sociologia Ruralis in 1999 there has been a proliferation of interest in labour migration to/ in rural Europe. It is now clear that the rural realm has been, and is being, transformed by immigration, and that low-wage migrant workers in the food production industry are playing a particularly prominent role in this transformation. This paper takes stock of the literature and identifies seven key issues associated with low-wage labour migration, contemporary food production, and rural change. Most notably, since the 1990s, there has been growing demand for migrants in the segmented, and sometimes exploitative, labour markets of the European food production industries. This demand has been met across a variety of contexts, with states and labour market intermediaries playing a largely supportive role. However, migrants' integration into rural communities has often been problematic, with the emphasis being on the need for, rather than needs of, low-wage migrant workers