Rural household vulnerability a decade after the great financial crisis

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the continuing impact of the 2007/08 financial crisis in rural Ireland, examining the vulnerability and coping strategies at the household scale. Therefore, rather than re-examining the causes of the financial crisis, in this paper we seek to focus on the responses to the crisis within rural households, primarily focused on the geographies of household vulnerability and household financial responses. In this context, Ireland provides an illustrative case study given its severe economic crash, as well as the urban focus of its current recovery. To examine these themes, the paper advances a holistic vulnerability/resilience framework tested through a household survey. This focuses on four key components of vulnerability/resilience – exposure, sensitivity, capacity of response, and adaptive capacity – for understanding how rural households respond to change. The results emphasise the negative impact that the crisis continues to have on rural households, suggesting that the national economic recovery is uneven and further entrenches urban-rural differences. Moreover, the ability of households to cope with the crisis related to pre-crisis household (e.g. financial literacy) or spatial attributes, suggesting the need to consider vulnerability and resilience within a holistic framework.