Title:
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Recent foreign immigration and the labour market in Athens.
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This thesis presents a mainly empirical analysis of the phenomenon of recent immigration to
the Athens conurbation and of the relationship of foreign workers to the Athenian lahour
market. The research focuses on three of the main groups of foreign migrant workers from
Third World and Eastern European countries: Albanians, Egyptians and Filipinos. After an
analysis of the nature and characteristics of the Greek economy and labour market the research
is built around three major topics: the differentiation of migrant groups within the context of
Greek labour market segmentation; the relation between immigration and the informal,
underground economy; and the impact of immigration on the spatial and social division of
labour in Athens. Methodologically, the main effort of the study was a field survey of recent
immigrants in Athens, undertaken over a period of seven months hetween August 1995 and
February 1996. The first three chapters of the thesis contain the theoretical hackground to the
empirical research. Chapter 4 contains a detailed presentation of methodological tools and
approaches adopted during the field research in Athens. Chapter 5 presents the general
background and profile data of 141 immigrants interviewed, including such variables as age,
sex, time and means of arrival, education and training, reasons for migrating to Greece, family
circumstances, remittance behaviour, and plans for the future. Chapter 6 is an extended
discussion of the interactions between immigrants and the Athens labour market, based partly
on a detailed analysis of the city's economy and social formation, and pattly on interview
results. Chapter 7 looks more closely at the day-to-day lives of the immigrants in Athens,
focusing in particular on their housing arrangements and their impact on the social geography
of the city. Finally Chapter 8 concludes the thesis. It shows how the empirical findings to the
different research questions are related to each other and how these findings are related to past
and contemporary theories of migration. The strengths and weaknesses of the research are
evaluated and suggestions for further research made.
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