Migration: Pre-requisite for rural economic regeneration?

Migration from and to depopulating areas is related to the prospects for rural economic regeneration. The focus is on whether or not migration processes give rise to the necessary human capital required for successful endogenous development. Data from Scottish case studies pertaining to in-, out- and return migrants are analysed. Only by leaving rural areas can young adults acquire the necessary skills to participate in endogenous development, however, few out-migrants subsequently return. In-migrants, while often possessing the necessary human capital to bring about an economic regeneration, are associated with relatively little new job creation. Instead in-migration is characterised by self-employment. It is argued that migration is a pre-requisite for rural economic regeneration, but that a rural endogenous development policy on its own will have limited success in regenerating areas experiencing on-going depopulation. Exogenous development strategies are also required.     

The diverse geographies of rural gentrification in Scotland

Gentrification has for too long been investigated as an urban phenomenon. Only relatively recently has it been viewed as an avenue for fruitful rural research. This paper focuses on the repopulation of rural Scotland. Using survey and interview data it examines evidence of gentrification among in-migration flows and seeks to explore both the social transformation of rural areas and the social displacement of rural residents.     

Input-output evaluation of rural development: a forestry-centred application

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of forestry in the rural economy of Scotland. The Generation of Regional Input-Output Tables (GRIT) technique is applied to the estimation of input-output tables for rural Scotland. This is followed by a forestry-centred multiplier analysis. The results suggest that the forestry planting and harvesting sectors offer great potential for improving economic activity. However, their backward linkages with other rural industries seem to be limited. On the other hand, the backward linkages of wood-processing industries with the rest of the economy are strong. From this analysis, it is concluded that the joint development of forestry and wood-processing industries would promote economic development in rural Scotland.     

Discourses of Resource Dependency: Second Homeowners as “Lifeblood” in Vacationland

In recent decades, rural destinations that once relied on the production and extraction of land and resources now rely on tourism as the primary economic pursuit. Such destinations have experienced a surge of new migrants in the form of tourists, permanent newcomers, and second homeowners. Scholars have turned to how permanent residents perceive these changes and new populations, revealing that in some instances permanent residents are more accepting of newcomers due to economic constraints. I extend this line of research by asking how, and under what conditions, permanent residents favorably view second homeowners, a specific type of rural in-migrant. Drawing on ethnographic data in Rangeley, Maine, I develop the concept “discourses of resource dependency,” to clarify how and why localities justify, explain, and ultimately pursue one economic resource over another. In this case, local residents view second homeowners as a resource that will ensure the town's economic sustainability, and this frame enables local residents to view their in-migration favorably. This frame emerges not just from structural economic circumstances, but also from a confluence of historical and cultural conditions that elevate the import of second homeowners in Rangeley's place-making project.     

Experiencing landscape: Orkney hill land and farming

This paper is about how rural landscape is experienced according to combinations of practical engagements with land and the ways meaning is made in relation to it. It presents the case of the ambiguous position of the Orkney Islands within categorisations of Highland and Lowland landscapes in Scotland. Through a discussion of the physical and highly visible boundary between heather and grass in Orkney farms, the paper unpacks notions of what landscape means and how it fits with socio-economic processes of continuity and change. It uses the history of hill reclamation in 20th century farming to explore how economic, moral and aesthetic judgements are made about land. Current engagements with hill land are then examined, showing how a fragmentation of hill into different uses and meanings is taking place. Amongst these are agri-environment schemes which revalue the hill. The paper ends with a discussion of hill land and farm land in Orkney in relation to the wider construction of Highland and Lowland. In Orkney opportunities to construct new ‘Highland’ identities and forms of rural development now exist.     

Self-reinforcing spatial clusters of migration and socio-economic conditions in Finland in 1998–2006

All the time the long economic growth period of 1992–2008 prevailed in Finland, the economic landscape was changing constantly and markedly. We analyse in this article how net migration plagued certain less competitive, mainly rural push-lose municipalities, and boosted in-migration to the pull-win municipalities in metropolitan environments during the very affluent period of 1998–2006. A persistent spatial match of net migration with pull and push conditions is evident in the socio-economically polarized extremes of the Finnish municipalities, indicating the existence of self-reinforcing processes which generate spatial clusters or in more theoretical terms, spatial formations. During the period of economic growth a spatial cumulative causation emerged to bring about a metropolitan type of regional development with only a few metropolitan areas, geographically wide and relatively stable intermediate areas and semi-peripheral, highly rural clusters of pronounced decline. Negative spatial cumulative causation brought about by the impacts of the shrinking primary and service sectors emerged in sparsely populated semi-peripheral municipalities, enforcing the regional polarization in demographic characteristics between growth centres and the poorest municipalities. The observed spatial clusters emerge as classes of their own in the Finnish typology of municipalities, exposing the areas of strongest flux. Our results indicate that various regional policy measures contributed to generating the success of economic evolution within fairly narrow, limited geographical areas.     

Wind farms in rural areas: How far do community benefits from wind farms represent a local economic development opportunity?

Although the large-scale deployment of renewable technologies can bring significant, localised economic and environmental changes, there has been remarkably little empirical investigation of the rural development implications. This paper seeks to redress this through an analysis of the economic development opportunities surrounding wind energy development in rural Wales. The paper concludes that the economic development outcomes to rural areas from wind generation projects to date have been questionable. Increasing the flow of conventional economic benefits to rural economies in terms of incomes and jobs is shown to be difficult because of the nature of the local supply side in remote areas. Partially as a consequence of this, developers of wind farms have come to routinely provide diverse forms of community benefits to ‘affected communities’, but these have yet to evolve into significant tools of economic development. In any case, the flows of revenues from community benefits are dwarfed, in quantitative terms, by the revenue streams that might be channelled to rural areas through a broader community ownership of wind energy projects. However, although a few local successes have been achieved, the scope for realising the returns from community ownership remains low in the Welsh case, with a series of impediments considered. We close the paper by suggesting means through which economic outputs might be improved.     

Elderly migration and its implications for service provision in rural communities: an Ontario perspective

Following a discussion of the role of migration in the aging of rural populations and of consequent implications for service provision in rural communities, a case study featuring demographic and service use data for Grey County, Ontario, is presented. Cohort Survival Analysis of census data for the period 1971–1986 indicates a consistent net in-migration of elderly into the county and a complex but predictable pattern of elderly relocation from townships to villages and towns within Grey. The demographic analysis is complemented and extended by the examination of survey data on the residential history and service use of a sample of elderly residents drawn from two communities in Grey County. The survey results provide valuable clues for the interpretation of the demographic analysis and reveal residential history to be a potentially important pre-condition of dependence on formal services intended for the maintenance of elderly persons in the community. The paper concludes with a discussion of the need for local analysis of migration impacts and of the relationship between such impacts and longstanding problems of rural service provision.     

Indicators of socio-economic sustainability: An application to remote rural Scotland

Although commonly used and relatively clearly defined in an environmental context, the concept of sustainability tends to be rather nebulous and confusing in the context of rural socio-economic development. In this paper it is defined in terms of three dimensions, structure, performance and dependence. These dimensions are assessed across three groups of socio-economic attributes, those concerned with demographic development, those relating to economic activity, and those associated with community and culture. The resulting sustainability matrix is a potentially valuable tool for assessing the socio-economic status of rural areas in developed countries. This is demonstrated by its application to remote rural areas in Scotland. In countries such as the U.K., which have a relatively long history of regional assistance, the true demographic and economic sustainability constraints of remote rural areas are to a large degree obscured by substantial transfers from more prosperous regions. This dependence is identified as the most important dimension of rural socio-economic sustainability in the Scottish context.     

Rurality discourses and the role of the social enterprise in regenerating rural Scotland

Social enterprises are businesses with primarily social objectives that reinvest their surplus in the community rather than seeking to maximise profit for shareholders. However, there is a debate regarding the drivers and the role of the social enterprise, the outcome of which is expected to have serious implications for the future of the institution [Brady, C., 2003. Social Enterprise development and the Role of the Social Economy in Scotland. CBS Network, Edinburgh]. A ‘reformist’ view supports the position that social enterprises are simple extensions of existing economic systems, whereas a ‘radical’ stance sees them as the embodiment of an alternative vision of running local economies. Development Trusts (DTs) are social enterprises that focus on community regeneration. Our research explored DT stakeholder views regarding the role of DTs in regenerating rural Scotland. Using Q methodology [Barry, J., Proops, J., 1999. Seeking sustainability discourses with Q methodology. Ecological Economics, 28, 337–345], we drew on ‘rurality’ discourses [Frouws, J., 1998. The contested redefinition of the countryside. An analysis of rural discourses in The Netherlands. Sociologia Ruralis 38(1), 54–68] expressed by DT stakeholders in order to investigate how these discourses informed their views. Radical positions were mostly associated with a hedonist rurality discourse and were split into three sub-discourses, whereas reformist positions mostly reflected a utilitarian rurality discourse. There was consensus between discourses in rejecting a primary DT contribution to rural regeneration by substituting state and local authority functions in rural Scotland. Results suggest that stakeholders prefer that DTs develop their own agendas and activity rather than try to substitute unsuccessful state or local authority provision of rural services. Social enterprise strategies and support policies promoting a service-providing role for DTs in rural Scotland should consider this issue if they are to avoid stakeholder objection and contribute to the success of DTs in becoming active vehicles of rural regeneration.     

Rural ageing in the United States: Trends and contexts

This paper examines rural population ageing in the United States with a particular focus on the contrasting contexts in which older rural residents live. We compare the characteristics of the older population by rural versus urban residence, and explore challenges and opportunities associated with the ageing of rural baby boomers. The United States is a vast territory, and rural areas in the US are diverse regionally, in poverty and income, principal forms of employment, proximity to metropolitan areas, population size, density and composition, the history of change in these parameters, and a number of other factors that affect the ageing process. Hence, the diversity across rural areas is an important consideration in what affects the well being of rural elderly individuals, as well as the community-level impacts of rural ageing. Further, the characteristics of the older rural population help shape community and rural development outcomes for diverse rural communities. We use data from various US Census Bureau sources, and cite other studies to provide a demographic overview of ageing in the rural United States, and to analyze how this situation differs in varying socio-demographic and regional contexts. In the concluding section, we focus on policy implications associated with rural ageing.     

The Shale Boom and Family Structure: Oil and Gas Employment Growth Relationship to Marriage,Divorce, and Cohabitation

Shale oil and gas extraction technology has caused a large shift in the United States' energy landscape over the last decade. This had a wide range of impacts on rural communities mostly in which oil and gas extraction occurs. While many studies have focused on the economic and environmental impact of shale development, researchers have only begun to study the social changes brought on by the shale resource extraction. We examine the influence of shale oil and gas employment as a share of overall county employment on county marriage, divorce, and cohabitation rates. We find evidence that oil and gas employment growth is associated with decreased marriage rates and increased divorce rates from 2009 to 2014. We test several channels through which oil and gas development may influence marriage behaviors and find that changes in female labor force participation, county sex ratios, and median household incomes are associated with oil and gas development. We also test for differences across the rural/urban continuum and find that our results are largely driven by nonmetro counties.     

The gendered dimensions of bushfire in changing rural landscapes in Australia

This paper examines gender differences in awareness, preparedness and attitudes towards bushfire amongst landholders in rural landscapes affected by amenity-led in-migration in southeast Australia. It considers the potential of conceptualising bushfire not as a gender-neutral natural phenomenon but as an important means by which traditional gender roles and power relations within rural landscapes are maintained. Landholders were found to uphold conventional views of bushfire management as “men’s business” despite changing social circumstances. Consequently, key gender differences exist within landholders’ bushfire risk awareness, bushfire knowledge, the perceived need for bushfire preparedness measures, the willingness to perform certain tasks, and the belief in personal capacity to act. We argue that covert and less visible as well as overt gender roles and traditions are important factors in understanding landholders’ engagement with bushfire management. When gendered dimensions of bushfire are investigated in the context of hegemony, a paradox emerges between women choosing not to take control of their own bushfire safety and women being denied the opportunity to take control. The complex and contradictory actions and attitudes to bushfire that materialise through an analysis of gendered social experiences complicate attempts to create more gender-sensitive frameworks for bushfire management. The tenacious and embedded nature of gender role divisions within both public and private spheres was furthermore found to act as economic, social and political stumbling blocks for empowerment opportunities. Using a mixed-methods research approach, this paper maps out gendered dimensions of bushfire through landholders’ narratives and actions. The implications of these dimensions for bushfire management have direct relevance to recent international discussions of the vulnerability of the growing number of people living in bushfire-prone rural–urban interface areas.     

Deprivation,poverty and marginalization in rural lifestyles in England and Wales

Research studies of the problems of rural life in Britain have often been based on concepts such as ‘deprivation’ or ‘disadvantage’. In this paper we explore the basis of these conceptualizations and note claims that they have been appropriated by government at local and central levels, suggesting that criticism of such appropriation should not lead to a neglect of material privation of opportunities caused by changes to the structure of rural life, brought about by economic restructuring, social recomposition and the political-economy of deregulation. Rather, we draw on studies of rural poverty to suggest that the changing material base of rural life has been accompanied by a range of discursive strategies which obscure rural problems and even filter them out altogether in the various constructions of idyll-ized rural life as the spatial expression of self-supporting, self-sufficient, happy, healthy and problem-free existence in a market place economy. Using some of the findings from the Rural Lifestyles research programme in England and Wales we discuss some of the different experiences of opportunity privation in rural areas, and some of the different ways in which cultural constructions of rural life can lead to a range of expectations from imagined rural geographies which are variously met and not met in day-to-day rural lifestyles. We suggest that rural problems are associated with a wide range of experiences of marginalization — economic, political, social, cultural — which cannot be mapped out according to normative or cultural expectations, but which occur differently at the intersection of material and experiential elements of rural lifestyles.     

Resources,Not Capital: A Case Study of the Gendered Distribution and Productivity of Social Network Ties in Rural Ethiopia*

Abstract Poor people make use of a variety of contextually relevant resources to pursue their livelihood strategies, and there is wide empirical evidence that opportunities and contraints for accessing these may vary considerably for women and men, particularly in the rural areas of developing countries. In this article, micro-evidence from a case study from a village in rural Ethiopia is used to analyze the role that gender plays in the distribution and productivity of social network ties. In the examined case, women and men have access to different social networks: women have access to bonded or relational social resources which can yield economic returns only if and when they are bridged, linked to, and associated with men and their networks. This is a result of the prevailing social structure in which men define social norms and implement these through locally available institutions, combined with women's time poverty. Consequently, for rural development interventions to be successful in building and strengthening women's social network ties, adequate attention needs to be paid to mechanisms that make sure that links and connections are in place as well.     

The ‘green green grass of home’? Return migration to rural Ireland

There have been calls recently to challenge some of the orthodoxies of counterurbanisation. This paper contributes to this by highlighting the complexity of rural in-migration processes, through a focus on rural return migration. There has been a significant increase in return migration to the Republic of Ireland (ROI) since 1996. The paper is based on the life narratives of some of the 1980s generation of emigrants who have recently returned to live in Ireland. It focuses on those Irish return migrants who spent a substantial part of their lives in the large urban centres of Britain and the US, and are currently living in rural Ireland. Their narratives of return are explored in terms of discourses of rurality, in particular through notions of a rural idyll and belonging/not belonging. It is argued that return migrants draw on classic counterurbanisation discourses in their narratives of return, but that these are interwoven with notions of family/kinship. Furthermore, the idyllisation of rural life is complicated by aspects of the specificity of the position of the return migrant. It is suggested that rural return migrants are positioned somewhere between locals and incomers, reflecting the complexity of Irish rural repopulation processes, and that the phenomenon of rural return complicates accepted understandings of counterurbanisation.     

In Search of Housing: Urban Families in Rural Contexts*

Researchers have been following a trend posited by the renowned anthropologist Janet Fitchen, which examines the increasing movement of low‐income people to rural communities drawn not necessarily by labor market forces, but by the characteristics and amenities found in rural towns. This study adds to that literature by focusing on the ways in which public housing availability, changes in housing policy, and rural economic restructuring create opportunities for low‐income families to relocate from urban to rural communities in search of affordable housing. Data collected from an ethnographic sample addressed the following questions: (1) what motivates individuals and families to leave their urban neighborhoods and relocate to rural towns and (2) what challenges do individuals and families have in sustaining stable housing in rural communities? Two main sets of literature relevant to this discussion include studies of patterns of residential mobility and explanations of rural economic restructuring. Both form the conceptual approach of this article by offering a framework to better understand the housing choices and behaviors of low‐income families and the contexts in which these actions are situated.     

‘The good old days’: In-migration,social control and the decline of the ‘imagined’ community in a north Wales market town

Rural communities across Britain are witnessing local level social, political and economic developments within the broader context of a general contemporary restructuring of the countryside. Changes such as in-migration, a loss of young people in search of employment, a declining agricultural economy and the closure of public services act to question long-standing ideas of the countryside that encompass a lifestyle bound up with community and belonging. It seems then that the traditional community is disappearing in the face of modernity. However, this paper argues that the traditional community was held up as an important reference point in a north Wales market town when faced with social change. As a response to the issue of in-migration local people constructed their version of what can be termed an imagined traditional community. What is clear from the research is that even in a symbolic sense, this imaginary dimension of community was still a powerful determinant in shaping perceptions and motivating actions at the local level.     

Local exchange trading systems-a rural response to the globalization of capitalism?

The local exchange trading system represents a possible community-level response to the globalization of capitalism. However, few studies have examined the potential of the LETS concept in rural areas, and no studies are available of LETS in rural Scotland. The present research employs empirical evidence from the Isle of Skye to investigate the potential of LETS for relocalising social and economic relations in remoter rural areas. This particular socio-cultural milieu presents both obstacles and opportunities for the development of LETS. It is suggested that further expansion of the Skye system could be stimulated by a focus on local food production. A LETS-based food co-operative can promote direct links between producers and consumers, extend the membership base and thereby reduce the frictional effect of distance on trading and social contact. It is concluded that to achieve such an objective the efforts of LETS members would be facilitated by the support of a sympathetic local authority.     

In search of counterurbanisation: some evidence from Devon on the relationship between patterns of migration and motivation

"The term counterurbanisation is frequently used to describe the redistribution of a population away from major cities and metropolitan areas and towards more rural areas. The widespread nature of this phenomenon has attracted much attention, yet the concept remains relatively under-developed, and even the basic definition lacks rigour. It is not surprising, therefore, that there has been a lack of cumulative evidence as to the extent of the process and little agreement as to its significance. In essence, ambiguity surrounds the types of movement that should be admitted, the necessary motives for movement and the appropriate measures for both. This paper offers some preliminary suggestions for a more structured approach to the problem. It draws on original survey data from Devon [England], a county which has experienced substantial net in-migration, both to examine the contribution of three alternative definitions of counterurbanisation and to consider how these issues relate to motivation."