Abstract

This chapter explores relationships between economic restructuring and demographic change in rural areas by considering the social and economic impacts of pre- and retirement-aged in-migrant entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is a contested term, but in all its manifestations it involves people investing different forms of capital in local economies and communities. By focusing on in-migration, we explore the extent to which non-local forms of capital are stimulating rural development. Data from rural communities in the UK and US shed light on the attitudes and motivations influencing in-migrants and their activities, including both social entrepreneurship and business creation. The embedding of in-migrants and their ability to enhance human, social and financial capital across rural communities are critical to understanding entrepreneurial in-migration in both countries.