The influence of migration processes on rural development: a case study from Scotland

Holger Bergmann and Kenneth J. Thompson

No 94914, 118th Seminar, August 25-27, 2010, Ljubljana, Slovenia from European Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: In the past, much rural development planning has relied on the concept of growth poles. With the “new rural paradigm”, we find that place-specific development and bottom-up approaches have become more popular than ever. Such place-based development often envisages the use of social capital. However, insofar as social capital is a local asset that is incorporated in individuals, it can easily be destroyed but not easily rebuilt. Continued out-migration and low in-migration into rural areas can have detrimental effects on social capital, and subsequently weaken bottom-up processes in the short and medium term. This paper - based on a survey of 1412 persons in northern Scotland - suggests that intensified migratory processes destroy social capital in rural remote as well as in urban areas. The results show that not only does actual out-migration decrease the available stock of social capital but also that mere intentions to out-migrate do so as well. Insofar as social capital can be built or re-built only in the long term, policies are therefore needed that offer potential out-migrants place-specific opportunities and increase the rate of integration of in-migrants.

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban; Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 15
Date: 2010-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mig and nep-soc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:eaa118:94914

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.94914

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