Rural Industrialization

Resumed from: The Geography of Rural Change, part 3 by David North page. 161-188

The dramatic change in the location of manufacturing industries at the global scale occurred in the past quarter century from the older industrial economies toward Japan and Pacific Rim countries. UK along with other developed economies, has become more and more dependent upon service sector rather than manufacturing.　This is the trend away from the mass production of standardized product toward more flexible production system, often known as the shift from fordism to neo fordism (or post fordism). Increased flexibility in the use of labor, is another characteristic of the shift toward neo fordism production methods. Given the radical nature of these changes in the organization of production, it is hardly surprising they also have profound implication for the location of manufacturing activities. Any interpretation of rural industrialization should be set within the context of these broader-level changes.

Some plausible explanation have been proposed to explain the urban-rural shift in manufacturing employment as the following:

1. The constrained location hypothesis, this is focus on the industrial space needs of firm and the abilities of both urban and rural location to meet them.
2. The production cost hypothesis, have analyzed the urban-rural shift in terms of spatial variations in production cost, especially wage costs and land/property costs.
3. The filter down hypothesis, This theory argued that in the early and innovative stage of the production life cycle, urban locations will be favored because they are capable of providing the skilled labor force, scientific and engineering know-how, and business support services which are needed.
4. The capital restructuring hypothesis, This approach emphasize the importance of the labor factor in the location of production and the spatial differentiation of labor, as capital develops its capability of locating more freely with respect to most commodity sources and market.
5. The residential preference hypothesis, this explanation focuses more on entrepreneurial behavior and the role of qualitative influence on the business location decision.
   

These are the principal explanations that have been put forward for the urban-rural shift, but other factors may be recognized in different contexts, including aspect of government policy.