Family production and the global market: Rural industrial growth in Greece

Rural areas in southern Europe generally, and in Greece in particular, have undergone rapid economic growth and structural transformation over the las t three decades. The emergence of family-owned and run businesses in agricu lture, manufacturing and tourism was the common element to this phenomenon. However, the systematic investigation of change in the countryside was ham pered by the perpetuation of an artificial dichotomy between economic geogr aphers and political economists. This paper aspires to address that gap in the literature by advocating the development of an integrated approach to t he study of social and economic transformation in the countryside. In so do ing, we focus upon a case of rural industrialization led by garment-manufac turing, an industry at the vanguard of globalization throughout the post-wa r era. We argue that the characteristics of this industry are formed not on ly by changes in the global marketplace but also by institutions deeply emb edded in the traditional socio-economic milieu.