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Abstract
Deprivation and disadvantage in rural areas is often thought to be "hidden" from official statistics largely because people in rural areas are dispersed into small, scattered settlements. This paper draws on research undertaken in two contrasting rural areas to explore one aspect of disadvantage, the labour market, and goes on to consider possible policy mechanisms which might be able to address rural deprivation. In particular, it examines the potential for more flexible policies, which appear to have been successful in urban contexts, but which are targeted at areas with high concentrations of deprivation so that rural areas do not qualify.