Understanding Rural Stayers
The Influence of Definitions and Methods
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4446466 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alexander Zahl‐thanem (0000-0003-3344-2596, Ruralis—Institute for Rural and Regional Research University Centre Dragvoll (NTNU) Trondheim Norway, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociologia Ruralis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0199 • E-ISSN: 1467-9523 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/soru.12506 |
| OpenAlex | W4407383657 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 45 |
In recent years, academic interest in individuals who have opted to stay in rural areas has increased, following a period of considerable focus on geographic mobility and internal migration. The shift from focusing primarily on 'migrants' and 'leavers' to those who stay has informed a more nuanced understanding of the factors influencing their decisions to stay and the reasons behind their choices. This article aims to illustrate how our understanding of 'rural stayers' is shaped by the methodological choices we make in defining and measuring the concept. Specifically, using survey data and population registers from Norway, the article empirically demonstrates how employing different operational definitions affects not only the estimated number of rural stayers but also their demographic and socioeconomic profiles, as well as subsequent stayer outcomes. Furthermore, the analyses show that survey data tend to underestimate the number of stayers due to nonresponse bias, whereas population registers tend to overestimate stayers by failing to account for temporary movements related to education. In discussing these issues, the article highlights the critical role that operational definitions and methods play in shaping our understanding of the phenomenon of rural staying
Demographic economics · Economic geography · Economics · Geography · Regional science · Sociology · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Rural development and sustainability · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
Staying and immobility
Moving and staying in the context of the family
Using population registers for migration and integration research
The impact of residential immobility and population turnover on the support networks of older people living in rural areas
Staying for the benefits
Better off in the city? Economic outcomes of rural out‐migration in Sweden—sibling study of cohorts 1960–1984
Closest family in the household or in the community? The role of family in residential satisfaction among intended stayers in Iceland
The role of non‐resident family ties in rural staying
Why return migrants return
Lifetime stayers in urban, rural, and highly rural communities in Montana
Young adults' return migration from large cities in Sweden
Who stays in their birthplace? The role of multigenerational local ties in young adults' staying behaviour
Contemporary and ‘Messy’ Rural In-migration Processes
The regional migration of young adults in England and Wales (2002–2008)
The success–failure dichotomy revisited
Dynamics of belonging amid geographical immobility
Reframing immobility
Nothing happens here, but that’s ok’
Going against the grain? A longitudinal study of the material-discursive practices of staying among young adults in rural Finland
Radically Ordinary Lives
The class structure of rural-to-urban migration The case of Norway
Home in the hills
Extended Field Efforts to Reduce the Risk of Non-response Bias
Should we use email for farm surveys? A comparative study of email and postal survey response rate and non-response bias
Factors influencing the decision of young adults to remain in their rural environment
Do People Move When They Say They Will? Inconsistencies in Individual Migration Behavior
Are Movers Still the Same? Characteristics of Interregional Migrants in Sweden 1970–2001
Microdata.no
Finding home”
Migration propensity of peripheral youth
Understanding Immobility
Attitudes Toward Immigrants in Rural Norway. A Rural-Urban Comparison
The Reliability of Survey Attitude Measurement
Staying, leaving and returning
Leaving the Countryside
Social and Economic Returns to College Education in the United States
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |