Migration Processes and Illegal Market Development in Greece

Abstract

The article presents the results of a scientific study which had been conducted by the author in the capital of Greece for five years between 2011 and 2016 in two phases. The aim of the sociological analysis is the representation of irregular immigration as an autonomous independent social phenomenon. On the basis of the endogenous and exogenous socio-economic conditions of its own reproduction some forms of immigration transformed into the shadow market, actively cooperating with other markets, legal and illegal, for example the real estate market, money laundering, drug trafficking, etc.. As a result of such activities the migrant’s shadow market successfully includes and expands in the space of the Greek capital. The results of empirical studies reveal the real situation in the segment of undocumented immigration and the smuggling of migrants through the analysis of illegal markets, their reproduction and propagation mechanisms. The author also examines the impact of immigration on the shady legal economy, which is embodied in the growth of crime, insecurity and general urban blight. In addition, the text presents a critical analysis of the current state policy in the field of immigration and possible exit from the current crisis. Refs 75.