LABOR-MARKETS AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL BRITAIN

Concern over the consequences of agricultural adjustment has been the focus of rural development policy for many years, yet conventional sta tistical indicators show little evidence of a problem. This paper, whi ch is restricted to the United Kingdom experience, argues that the ope ration of the labour market in rural areas is different from that in u rban areas, and that this is implicit in the literature although there is little empirical basis for such an assumption. The paper examines the published evidence from the United Kingdom in terms of definitiona l and statistical problems, constraints on labour market participation associated with rurality, and the effects of the changing nature of r ural economies on employment opportunities. It concludes that there ha s been little if any comprehensive analysis of the operation of the la bour market in different types of rural area, and this acts as a barri er to the development of revised approaches to rural development which respond to the changed circumstances.