Rural restructuring and agriculture-rural economy linkages: A New Zealand study

Rapid rural restructuring in New Zealand has occurred following government policy changes in the mid-1980s. This paper seeks to explore the impact of these events on agriculture-rural economy linkages, with a study of a rural service town in Southland, the southernmost region of the South Island. The findings show that the town experienced recession soon after agricultural deregulation due to cutbacks in farmer expenditure. The responses of a range of agriculturally-related businesses, and also community responses to recession, are explored through documentary research and in-depth interviews. It is concluded that deregulation has altered agricultural-rural economy linkages but has not lessened their importance.