Theoretical and methodological aspects of research on labor potential in rural areas

The article describes the main theoretical and methodological aspects of the research on the employment potential of rural areas, showing their specificity as an object of study. The authors define the most common approaches to the definition of rural areas used in the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation and scientific publications. According to the authors, currently there are four main approaches to definition of rural areas: the statistical, economic, demographic, and anti-urban approaches. The article describes their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. The authors consider in detail the theoretical and methodological approaches to the interpretation of the concept “labor potential of the territory”, showing their conceptual differences. They discuss controversial issues in defining the structure of labor potential, stress the importance of an integrated approach to the study of labor potential of rural areas, highlighting both quantitative and qualitative sides. The article briefly analyzes existing methods of estimating the employment potential, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, determines applicability in the conditions of rural areas. The authors also highlight some of the practical problems that the researcher and the manager have to face when assessing the employment potential of rural areas.