An exploration of 'bundles' as indicators of rural disadvantage

Indicators are increasingly used in the allocation of resources in addressi ng problems of disadvantage. The most commonly used indicators have general ly been developed in relation to urban problems and there is a concern that this fails to reveal problems as experienced in rural areas. Many of the i ndicators that might be used are ambiguous and there appear to be few singl e indicators that adequately capture the complex nature of the problems fac ing people living in rural areas. An alternative approach is proposed, invo lving the development of bundles of indicators that are defined around noti onal numbers of people living in particular sets of circumstances relating, for example, to employment, service provision, and access to housing. A nu mber of bundles are suggested and illustrative results are presented For th ree counties. Analysis illustrates how the results may be used to compare t he incidence of disadvantage between urban and rural areas, the concentrati on of disadvantage within rural areas, and the relationships between the va rious types of disadvantage. The approach has potential both for analysing the incidence of rural disadvantage and as a basis for the allocation of ru ral development assistance.