ABSTRACT
Scholars and non-governmental organisations grappling with issues of immigration from disadvantaged parts of the world have increasingly engaged in public efforts to critique the ways in which immigrants, be they regular or irregular, with or without papers, are mistreated by affluent regions and countries. Many critical reports and commentaries on policies and practices regarding matters of immigration, and especially regarding the array of national and international efforts to manage the flows of poor immigrants into the advanced economies of the West, have relied on the notion of physical or geographical exclusion. Greece has a ‘semi-peripheral’ national economic structure that relies on its comparatively large informal economy, itself estimated to account for around 25 per cent of GDP. One of the highest proportions in the EU-27, to bring together low-skill labour and employers seeking to fill vacancies in private households and small or medium-sized enterprises specialising in farming, construction, industry or service activities.
