Poverty and Social Integration in Rural Areas

Background and Objective

From other research and our own pilot study we can draw assumptions about the peculiarities of rural poverty. Thus, rural poverty is:

• probably more covered or hidden than in urban areas and could be underrepresented in official statistics;
• worsened in its consequences by mobility issues: people in rural areas need a car for keeping up their everyday life;
• shaped by shrinking processes which lead to thinning out of infrastructure especially in eastern Germany;
• exacerbated by selective out-migration of younger, skilled persons;
• probably, and contrary to common assumptions of stronger social integration in close-knit communities, more often stigmatized in smaller, rural villages.

In our project we want to test and challenge these assumptions. In particular, we want to analyze how social, economic and infrastructural conditions shape and influence different forms of poverty and coping with its consequences. How do these conditions influence social integration of poor people in rural areas and "feelings of being left behind"?

Approach

Multi-method approach (qualitative and quantitative research methods)

Our Research Questions

This project looks at the extent and the different dimensions of rural poverty. We ask:

(1) To what extent is there rural poverty in different rural areas in Germany?

(2) Which are the different forms and dimensions of rural poverty?

(3) How do poor people in rural areas cope with consequences of poverty?

Preliminary Results

A pilot study on poverty in rural and non-rural areas in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany showed that there is a big difference in satisfaction with their residential environment and the infrastructure between poor people in the city of Rostock and the rural areas in the region Mecklenburgische Seenplatte. In the city respondents are more or less content with reachability of doctors, social workers, community centres, super markets etc. In contrast, for  respondents in rural areas mobility and the lack of infrastructure is a big issue. Without a car they are literally stranded. Owning a car, paying for gas and repairs is a major cost factor which affects poor people in rural areas way more than those in the city.