ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews different theoretical perspectives on work structures. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of rural poverty is the fact that so many of the rural poor are "working poor." Economic action based on market exchange is unfeasible outside of a context of established rules and regulations which govern market exchanges. A major concern of the ecological perspective is the extent to which sustenance organization varies among different types of social contexts. It seems, therefore, that a rural work structure characterized by industrial diversity contributes to a social context in which poverty rates are relatively low, at least compared to rural labor markets with a high degree of industrial specialization. From the economic organization perspective, work structures are embedded in firms and other economic organizations. The concern is with how the structure of economic organizations influences work structures.
