Suchergebnisse

Rural development has, in recent years, become a major area of EU policy, to the extent that the term has even begun to be overused in signifying a new shift in EU rural policy. The result has been a great deal of misunderstanding and numerous divergent interpretations of both the concept and the practice. Although rural development existed as a policy domain before the arrival of the accentuated 'Second Pillar' of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy, the fact is that an increasingly Europeanized approach to rural development funding, programming, and administration has developed in the post-1999 period. In this paper we argue that the study of rural development policy will gain a great deal from using a policy network approach to interpret the dynamics of evolving rural development policy within member states. Our main aim is to analyze and interpret the newly emerging Rural Development Policy Network in Greece, which aspires to separate itself from a strong and resistant Agricultural Policy Network. The example of Greece suits the purpose of the paper not only because of Greece's continuing reliance on agriculture and the centrality of the latter in sustaining rural livelihoods, but most importantly due to the institutional arrangements developed around it, which are characterized by a prevalence of agricultural interests at the expense of wider rural concerns. The concern of this paper is with the mechanisms of transition, and to a lesser extent with its outcome. One major finding is that the policy network approach to the study of rural development policy in Greece brings to light a certain transformation in policy structures, mechanisms, and administration. This transformation is not so evident at the level of policy style and/or policy outcome. Due to it having been labeled a 'laggard' member state, Greece has been affected by the Europeanization of rural development policy and has to some extent transformed its policy-making procedures accordingly. At the same time, the process of Europeanization has acted to empower civil society mechanisms and actors.

This paper aims at the critical review of the studies concerning family farming in Greece by looking both at more general treatments of family farming issues connected with its integration into the wider economy and at specific empirical research on family farm operation. First, the paper discusses the definition and theoretical underpinnings of the family farm as developed in western literature. Then it provides the contextual information for the discussion following on Greek family farming. The next parts are devoted to a review of the debate over the development of capitalism in Greek agriculture and a critical evaluation of the work produced on family farming in the post‐1980 period in the country. This review deals mainly with methodological and theoretical arguments rather than actual empirical research on Greek family farming. Finally, a discussion is developed in search of a more holistic treatment of family farming in Greece.

AbstractMigration is considered a meaningful strategy whereby both migrants and nonmigrants can improve their well‐being and their livelihoods. The paper emphasizes the migrants' own perspective and sheds light on movers' noneconomic drivers. The concept of aspirations is treated as a 'missing link' that allows research into migration at its intersection with social inequalities, hierarchies and diversity. The paper's main aim is therefore to elucidate Romanian migrants' aspirations and to illustrate how these aspirations are informed by their agency and reflect their well‐being both during and after the economic recession in Greece. Romanian migration provides sufficient grounds to invoke a more nuanced approach to migrants' well‐being, which takes their 'dreams of fantasy' into account, along with their subjective experiences of inequalities and multiple belonging. This paper frames migrants' well‐being theoretically as a relational process, but also in terms of the socio‐spatial arrangements of migrant mobility/immobility acts. Romanians' narratives are analysed in relation to their social trajectories, spatial movement(s) and settlement patterns during their international and internal journey(s).

Potential synergies between international trade and tourism are viewed optimistically by governments, yet research to assess their association is limited. To gain an understanding of trade and tourism relationships, this paper reports on a study which examines both product-related and tourism-related place image effects on consumer behavior simultaneously. Using the U.S. as the country of focus, key product and travel relationships are measured by structural equation modeling of consumer data from South Korea. Findings support the cross-over effect between one's beliefs about a country as a destination and as a producer, and one's willingness to travel to it and/or buy its products, and most strongly, that product beliefs affect views of travel destinations.

AbstractNon‐agricultural employment is expanding in many rural areas in Greece, while the agricultural sector is the main employer in a great deal of rural areas. Local labour markets are diverse although dependence on family farming, small‐scale businesses, informal employment and tourist activities is constantly increasing. These developments have gradually reinforced the multifunctionality of rural areas and have brought about a demand for flexible labour power. Under these circumstances, the role of migrants has been fundamental for sustaining the multifunctional character of rural Greece, as they participate in every economic sector and their presence varies across sectors and geographical regions. Migrants should not only be conceived strictly as an agricultural labour force on the grounds that they seem to be highly mobile in rural areas. They should rather be considered more widely, as a rural labour force with multiple implications on Greek rural society and economy. The article is based on an empirical study carried out in three different localities in the Epirus region in northern Greece. On the basis of quantitative data, it analyses and interprets the multilateral, versatile impact of migrants on different rural localities. One major finding is that the contribution of migrants is crucial for the preservation of the multifunctional character of rural areas in Greece. However, migrant labour loses its collective identity by becoming increasingly individualised in its capacities, its employment conditions and its interests.