A unique title comparing rural policies and employment in the two most developed parts of the world — the EU and USA. While both regions are concerned for their vast rural areas, each adopts a strikingly different approach to create and maintain employment there, making rural space attractive to businesses and residents.This book focuses on a major issue of socioeconomic and policy concern, i.e. whether jobs and incomes can be protected or created in rural areas, where often agriculture no longer provides a large and secure basis for employment. Within a 'paired' chapter structure covering both the European Union and the United States of America, it deals with several themes of interest including farm policies, labor entry and exit, and rural and household enterprise diversification. Specific 'special studies' also analyze recent developments within countries or regions.

Emerging in the throes of a global pandemic that threatens Europe’s economies and food security, International Labour Migration to Europe’s Rural Regions combines a diverse range of empirically rich, in-depth case studies, analysis of their rural context specificities, and insights from labour market and migration theories, to critically examine the conditions and implications of rural labour migration. Despite its growing political, economic and social importance, our understanding of international labour migration to Europe’s rural regions remains limited. This edited volume provides intricate descriptions of lived experience, critical theoretical analyses, analytical synthesis, and policy recommendations for this novel and developing phenomenon that has the potential to transform the lives of international migrants and local communities. The book’s 25 authors represent a wide range of social science disciplines, with coverage of a vast range of Europe’s rural regions, and diverse types of rural labour in areas such as horticulture, shepherding, wild berry picking and fish processing. The volume will be of interest to policy makers at local, regional, national and European levels, and scholars and students in a broad range of areas, including migration, labour markets, and rural studies. This book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com.

This book analyzes the roots of one of the main human activities that can be developed in natural and agricultural ecosystems: tourism. Attention to natural and agricultural ecosystems and their conservation has intensified in recent decades, responding to increasing social sensitivity to the environment, as also witnessed by Agenda 2030. The book explores the development of tourism in natural and agricultural ecosystems in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when some of its essential features derived from the practices of exploration, scientific study, business, healing practices, and also a desire for personal growth. This research is intended to open up international scholarly debate and discussion and draw in contributions from all disciplines and geographical areas. In addition, it intends to add an important piece to the mosaic of international literature that has rarely considered the origins of nature and rural tourism in an array of practices not always embodying a stated intent of recreation. This book is based on handwritten documents and travelogues circulating during the period in question. Most of the travel experiences analyzed regard men and women of European descent, but their travels were global, with ecosystems considered on all populated continents. This volume is essential reading for students and scholars alike interested in tourism history and the history of science and travel.

Despite an EU-wide commitment to rural development, research has rarely focused on the lives of young people in rural areas, their experiences in education and employment, their perceptions of policies relevant to them, and their possibilities of participation. Based on a two-year European research project on policies and young people in rural development, this edited volume examines these issues and considers young people's experiences of rural life in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Scotland. The volume is organized thematically with each chapter addressing a specific topic in one or more countries. These topics comprise: the attractiveness of rural areas to young people; the impact of programmes under the European Employment Guidelines; rural youth in local community development and partnerships; rural development programmes and their impact on youth integration; the role of social networks; and the transition from education to employment. A number of implications for policy and practice are drawn out in conclusion. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the future of rural areas and with those who live in the European countryside.