LABOR REGIMES AND THE DOMESTIC DOMAIN - MANUFACTURING GARMENTS IN RURAL GREECE

Over the last quarter of a century, Greece, alongside other southern E uropean economies, witnessed a burgeoning of new enterprises and the c reation of a significant number of jobs in the garment industry. Many producers were beneficiaries of the decentralisation of production fro m large corporations in core countries (particularly Germany) to local ised networks, through sub-contracting arrangements. Our paper highlig hts the case of garment-led industrial growth in the Macedonian countr yside. We set out to explore the nature of the labour regime which lie s at the heart of the recent expansion. The argument is that medium-sc ale primary sub-contractors have introduced novel practices of employm ent in the locality, while their household and small-scale secondary c ounterparts have based their enterprise strategy upon redefining their links with traditional institutions, especially the family-oriented d omestic domain.