Regeneration and Economic Development in Greece: De-industrialisation and Uneven Development

Abstract

The 2004 Olympic Games showcased Greece on a global stage, with Athens and its hinterland benefiting from massive infrastructure projects. Stringent attempts were made to develop culture, tourism and agriculture, but many urban and rural areas experienced de-industrialisation, not unlike that found in Western Europe. The rural/urban divide within Greece is particularly acute as the Greek islands and farming communities benefited more from Euro-funds than some of their semi-urbanised counterparts. The cases examined in this paper (Kastoria's beaver industry, Lavrion's mining, and textiles and fruit in Naoussa) suffered the loss of markets, poor investment and a shrinking employment base. All three localities had (limited) national policy interventions that ultimately failed, whereas Athens, where the 2004 Olympics were hosted, had massive investment. This paper is framed within global, EU and local policy contexts, to examine specific areas in Greece, and shows that despite numerous EU-driven partnerships for culture, tourism and agriculture across the mainland and Hellenic islands, clientelism, especially within political parties, remains prevalent at all governance levels. The success or otherwise of regeneration efforts was significantly affected by the ways in which elite actors were involved. In summary, the cases illustrate uneven development across Greece by highlighting the role of national and local elites in shaping growth or decline; the significance of political parties and clientelism; different types of partnerships; and levels of intervention and non-intervention. The dynamic interplay of a constellation of factors reveals how regeneration and economic development are played out in specific localities.

Key Words:

• Regeneration
• economic development
• Greece
• clientelism
• partnerships

Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the many Greek respondents who gave freely of their time to discuss social and economic regeneration in Athens, Kastoria, Lavrion and Naoussa. Particular thanks go to Mr Ioannis Oikonomopoulos of Megara.

Notes

1 Citizen's Panels, call centres, one-stop shops and e-governance, such as websites and intranets, were launched as part of a national plan.

2 Interview, July 2008.

3 Available at www.378.greekdirectory.dot.com (accessed 4 August 2008).

4 Greece was designated as Objective 1 until 2006, but, after 2007, some regions lost this status.

5 These were proposed by Michailidis et al. in 2006 to aid regional competitiveness.