ABSTRACT
Rural economies in advanced nations have undergone a radical transition in the post-Second World War period, shifting away from a heavy dependence on agriculture and becoming more diversified. In the US and the UK, for example, just 8 per cent and 6 per cent of all rural jobs respectively are in agriculture, whilst manufacturing employs well under a quarter of rural workers (US Department of Agriculture 1993, Department of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1995). The result is that the vast majority of rural employment is now in the service sector. Indeed, this has been the case for more than two decades (Glasmeier and Howland 1994a and b). Despite this, most rural research and economic policy remain focused on the primary and secondary sectors. As for their urban counterparts, therefore, there has been an under-emphasis on the role of services in rural economic development.
