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Is there hidden potential for rural population growth in Sweden?

Niedomysl, Thomas LU and Amcoff, Jan (2011) In Rural Sociology 76(2). p.257-279
Abstract
Rural depopulation is a concern in many countries, and various

policy initiatives have been taken to combat such trends. This article examines whether hidden potential for rural population growth can be found in Sweden. If such potential exists, it implies that the development prospects for many rural areas are not as unpromising as they may seem today. If not, rapid rural depopulation can be expected and policymakers will have to increase their focus on how to lessen problems associated with population decline. We employ a combination of survey data and register data to identify the characteristics

of people who have expressed a desire to move to rural areas and

compare this population with those who actually do... (More)
Rural depopulation is a concern in many countries, and various

policy initiatives have been taken to combat such trends. This article examines whether hidden potential for rural population growth can be found in Sweden. If such potential exists, it implies that the development prospects for many rural areas are not as unpromising as they may seem today. If not, rapid rural depopulation can be expected and policymakers will have to increase their focus on how to lessen problems associated with population decline. We employ a combination of survey data and register data to identify the characteristics

of people who have expressed a desire to move to rural areas and

compare this population with those who actually do move to these areas. The results show that more people have rural residential preferences than the actual number of migrants to rural areas suggest. The findings indicate that there is a general potential for rural population growth; however, the characteristics of these two groups are similar and we cannot discern any group as constituting this hidden potential. Nonetheless, we argue that this potential is

unlikely to be realized in terms of rural population growth and we discuss the further implications of these findings. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Rural Sociology
volume
76
issue
2
pages
257 - 279
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:79957945015
ISSN
1549-0831
DOI
10.1111/j.1549-0831.2010.00032.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5bdcd6a8-cc57-4672-9c33-f4b5b549f996 (old id 2426193)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:27:26
date last changed
2024-01-09 12:47:02
@article{5bdcd6a8-cc57-4672-9c33-f4b5b549f996,
  abstract     = {{Rural depopulation is a concern in many countries, and various<br/><br>
policy initiatives have been taken to combat such trends. This article examines whether hidden potential for rural population growth can be found in Sweden. If such potential exists, it implies that the development prospects for many rural areas are not as unpromising as they may seem today. If not, rapid rural depopulation can be expected and policymakers will have to increase their focus on how to lessen problems associated with population decline. We employ a combination of survey data and register data to identify the characteristics<br/><br>
of people who have expressed a desire to move to rural areas and<br/><br>
compare this population with those who actually do move to these areas. The results show that more people have rural residential preferences than the actual number of migrants to rural areas suggest. The findings indicate that there is a general potential for rural population growth; however, the characteristics of these two groups are similar and we cannot discern any group as constituting this hidden potential. Nonetheless, we argue that this potential is<br/><br>
unlikely to be realized in terms of rural population growth and we discuss the further implications of these findings.}},
  author       = {{Niedomysl, Thomas and Amcoff, Jan}},
  issn         = {{1549-0831}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{257--279}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Rural Sociology}},
  title        = {{Is there hidden potential for rural population growth in Sweden?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2010.00032.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1549-0831.2010.00032.x}},
  volume       = {{76}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}