Over the last quarter of a century, Greece, alongside other southern European economies, witnessed a burgeoning of new enterprises and the creation of a significant number of jobs in the garment industry. Many producers were beneficiaries of the decentralization of production from large corporations in core countries (particularly Germany) to localised networks, through sub-contracting arrangements. Our paper highlights the case of garment-led industrial growth in the Macedonian countryside. We set out to explore the nature of the labour regime which lies at the heart of the recent expansion. The argument is that medium-scale primary sub-contractors have introduced novel practices of employment in the locality, while their household and small-scale secondary counterparts have based their enterprise strategy upon redefining their links with traditional institutions, especially the family-oriented domestic domain.
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