Tales from a Small Island: Applying the ‘Path-Dependency’ Thesis to Explore Migration to a Remote Rural Community

Lorna J. Philip; Marsaili MacLeod

doi:10.1111/soru.12142

Tales from a Small Island: Applying the ‘Path-Dependency’ Thesis to Explore Migration to a Remote Rural Community

Lorna J. Philip, Marsaili MacLeod

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Abstract

This article explores the perspicacity of the ‘path-dependency’ thesis for explaining pre- and post-retirement migration, extending existing debates in the literature on path-dependency retirement regions. The article presents a case-study of pre- and post-retirement migration to the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Drawing on findings from a household survey and biographical interviews with in-migrants to the island, we ground our understanding of path-dependency processes in individual behaviours and experiences, to demonstrate how specific attributes of particular places lay the foundations of path-dependent migration flows. Our findings support the path-dependency thesis, as applied to migration into rural areas, demonstrating how the Isle of Bute has followed a systematic trajectory from being a long-standing popular holiday destination with attractive natural amenities, to a popular retirement destination with a developed recreational infrastructure and, latterly, a popular pre-retirement destination in which personal networks influence migration decision-making.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	147 - 170
Number of pages	24
Journal	Sociologia Ruralis
Volume	58
Issue number	1
Early online date	30 Sept 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12142
Publication status	Published - Jan 2018

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to the people of Bute who volunteered to participate in this study, and who welcomed us into their homes. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the ESRC, who funded the research upon which this article is based, and the assistance of our colleagues Aileen Stockdale and Jonathon Bell who were involved in collecting data for the project.

Keywords

Migration
Remote Rural Community

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10.1111/soru.12142Licence: Unspecified

Tales from a small island Accepted Manuscript July 2016
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Philip, LJ & MacLeod, M 2018, 'Tales from a Small Island: Applying the ‘Path-Dependency’ Thesis to Explore Migration to a Remote Rural Community' Sociologia Ruralis, vol 58, no. 1, pp. 147 - 170], which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1111/soru.12142. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Accepted author manuscript, 83.7 KBLicence: Unspecified

Lorna Philip
- School of Geosciences, Geography & Environment - Personal Chair
- Business School,
Person: Academic

Cite this

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title = "Tales from a Small Island: Applying the {\textquoteleft}Path-Dependency{\textquoteright} Thesis to Explore Migration to a Remote Rural Community",

abstract = "This article explores the perspicacity of the {\textquoteleft}path-dependency{\textquoteright} thesis for explaining pre- and post-retirement migration, extending existing debates in the literature on path-dependency retirement regions. The article presents a case-study of pre- and post-retirement migration to the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Drawing on findings from a household survey and biographical interviews with in-migrants to the island, we ground our understanding of path-dependency processes in individual behaviours and experiences, to demonstrate how specific attributes of particular places lay the foundations of path-dependent migration flows. Our findings support the path-dependency thesis, as applied to migration into rural areas, demonstrating how the Isle of Bute has followed a systematic trajectory from being a long-standing popular holiday destination with attractive natural amenities, to a popular retirement destination with a developed recreational infrastructure and, latterly, a popular pre-retirement destination in which personal networks influence migration decision-making.",

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Tales from a Small Island: Applying the ‘Path-Dependency’ Thesis to Explore Migration to a Remote Rural Community

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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Lorna Philip

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