Towards a Geography of Political Economy Perspective on Rural Change: The Example of New Zealand

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Abstract
In this paper it is argued that recent applications of the political economy perspective in wider social science have a strong relevance to the understanding of change in rural areas. In it is outlined what are seen as some of the main concepts needed to study economic, social, political and environmental change, and changes in the agricultural sector on which some contemporary rural areas, such as those in New Zealand continue to depend heavily. These concepts are then applied to the study of contemporary rural restructuring in New Zealand. It is concluded that first, the undue emphasis on the economic dimension of the political-economic approach should be redressed with greater inclusion of the political dimension. This represents a potentially large field for political geographers. Second, the conception of the capitalist accumulation process still requires more theorisation. In particular, the internationalisation of capital has been insufficiently integrated into the approach in recent work. Third, studies of rural changes in different national contexts are urgently required in order to establish the adequacy of the approach in empirical analysis. The paper's argument is outlined with reference to how the approach might be utilised in the study of contemporary rural restructuring in New Zealand.

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