Social inequalities in rural England: Impacts on young people post-2008

Abstract

This paper investigates the cumulative impacts of the 2008 economic crisis and its aftermath (including policy changes) on young people in a sparsely populated rural area of northern England. The paper locates the research in the context of youth studies, Bourdieu's theory of practice, concepts of welfare regimes and welfare mix, and studies of the impacts of the crisis and austerity policies on the distribution of social and societal risk. The empirical findings reveal the challenges which faced young people in rural England before the financial crisis still persist. Moreover, the overwhelming reliance of young people on family for support generates further inequalities through what might be termed 'secondary impact austerity': young people feel indirectly and unevenly the economic effects and policy changes which impact on parents' and communities' ability to offer them support. Thus, changes to the welfare system, loss of services and less secure forms of employment exacerbate the transfer of social risk and the deepening of poverty for vulnerable groups. This is worsened in this rural area by the moral imperatives which stigmatise access to state and charitable support. Thus, moral capital and local habitus intersect with social, economic and cultural capitals in structuring inequalities.

Understanding and improving the experience of claiming social security for mental health problems in the west of Scotland: A participatory social welfare study

“…However, the findings should be considered within their limitations as this study was restricted to one urban region in Scotland; therefore, findings may not be representative of those across the country, particularly those in more rural areas. For example, the introduction of universal credit, which requires internet access to claim, has been raised as a particular concern for those in rural areas, where internet provision or access to libraries may be poorer (Black, Scott, & Shucksmith, ).…”

“…For example, the introduction of universal credit, which requires internet access to claim, has been raised as a particular concern for those in rural areas, where internet provision or access to libraries may be poorer (Black, Scott, & Shucksmith, 2018).…”

Improving Rural Accessibility: A Multilayer Approach

“…Therefore, these territories are highly car-dependent, and the groups of users that are most affected by the lack of accessibility are those who, due to age, economic, or cultural barriers, do not have access to cars [7,8,12,13]. The population groups that are already vulnerable in themselves are therefore those most affected by the lack of accessibility, and this applies both within rural areas and in the connection with the nearest urban centers where basic services are located [41][42][43]. Moreover, as recently highlighted in the ESPON SUPER (Sustainable urbanization and land-use practices in European regions) research project, rural areas feature different patterns of settlement, some population living in villages, others in isolated farmhouses, some dispersed in polycentric networks, others aligned in linear corridors, some territories posing restrictions to sprawling, other being less restrictive [44].…”

Poverty and Social Exclusion in Diversified Rural Contexts

“…Studies differentiating between the various sub-groups of rural poor and disadvantaged have focused both on young adults becoming independent from the family and seeking work (Shucksmith 2004;Alston and Kent 2009;Culliney 2014;Black et al 2019), and on the elderly (Giarchi 2006;Shergold and Parkhurst 2012;Walsh et al 2012). Attention was also paid to gender forms of disadvantage (Buller and Hoggart 2004;Bock 2010;Noack 2011;Olsson and Ruotsala 2010;Contzen 2013;Bock and Shortall 2017;Quero-Garcia et al 2017), one of the most intensively researched themes in rural studies over these past 15 years, the situation of families with children (Katras et al 2015;Bernard 2019) and ethnic forms of rural poverty (Růžička 2012; Schwarcz 2012).…”

“…A few studies addressed explicitly the impact of welfare systems on rural poverty (Palacios 2007;Shubin 2012;Valero et al 2016;Black et al 2019). This is also a theme of the comparative review of research on rural poverty in the USA and UK by Shucksmith and Schafft (2012) and of the TIPSE project exploring territorial impacts of poverty and social exclusion across Europe (Copus et al 2015a).…”