Troika, Austerity and the Reluctant Resort to Criminality in Greece

This chapter is part of an on-going and broader research project on illegal markets and the informal economy in Greece and beyond. The aim here is to draw attention to a specific type of ‘illegal marketer’ – the entrepreneur operating in the legal market economy who has become involved in illegal markets related to the legitimate business solely to sustain its viability. One case has been selected from a larger sample of thirteen case studies that we analysed during the collapse of the Greek economy. In an effort to sustain his legal businesses under the financial pressure that has recently built up in Greece, particularly since late 2009, the owner of a confectionary shop entered an illegal market in dark chocolate. We have published data and analyses of some of the other case studies elsewhere (Antonopoulos and Hall, 2014). In line with colleagues who have used a limited number of case studies (e.g. Gadd & Farrall, 2004), we have chosen this case because it clearly expresses the characteristics of the whole sample.