Movin’ On Up? The Role of Growing Up Rural in Shaping Why Working-Class Men Do—and Don’t—Seek to Improve Their Labor-Market Prospects

Abstract

Based on interviews with sixty-one working-class men in rural Pennsylvania, this article explores the ways in which rural, working-class men do—and do not—seek to improve their labor-market positions by getting additional education or training, moving, or taking gender-atypical jobs. The evidence presented shows that men are making many efforts to improve their labor-market position, but there are misunderstandings about why they adopt the strategies they do. In particular, deep identification with rural place provides meaning and attachment but also constrains how they seek to improve their labor-market prospects.