In Sweden the number of rural food shops has decreased for more than 50 years. Often the closing of a village shop is supposed to affect the migration patterns in the area it has been serving. However, according to this study, neither in- nor out-migration in the area affected by the closing is...

The last decades have seen a rapidly growing interest in foresight methodology. Methods have been developed in corporate and governmental communication exercises often labelled technology foresight. In reality, these foresights have often drifted into processes of social change, since...

Longitudinal microdata on the Swedish population, 1990–2006, are used to examine the numbers and characteristics of internal return migrants, emphasizing Sweden’s three largest cities. Our study indicates that metropolitan regions are gaining population from net return migration, which thus...

The scholarly interest in the political consequences of industrial decline across Western nations is growing. Despite the current global energy crisis, the electoral impact of increasing natural gas and electricity prices has received less attention, even though it represents a direct threat to...

Rural depopulation is a concern in many countries and various policy initiatives have been taken to combat such trends. This paper examines whether a hidden potential for rural population growth can be found in Sweden. If such potential exists, it implies that the development prospects for many...