Härjedalen och avfolkningen : en analys av medias rapportering från en avfolkningsbygd 1950-1970

Sammanfattning: The depopulation of the Swedish region Härjedalen between 1950 and 1970 is the subject of this study. During that period the Swedish agriculture went through a large scale of restructuring which led to that a large amount of small scale farmers had to make their livelihood somewhere else. The biggest issue for the Härjedalen region was to establish jobs within the manufacturing industry which was an important job supplier during that time. By looking at media reporting of the depopulation through some well known theories regarding migration, the study main purpose is to identify the factors which act and counteract for the decision to migrate. Especially difficulties for the region was to maintain the youth who supremely left the region for a more urban area. They were often not satisfied with what the regional centers has to offer. Härjedalen was from the beginning a sparsely populated region with less than one person for each square kilometer. With no real urban center, even a migration to the nearest town wasn't enough. The depopulation problem was an issue for the whole swedish countryside at the time. As above the unemployment was one of the main factors alongside with the urban turn. The real struggle was for the region to keep the factors associated with the area of origin counterbalance associated with the area of destination. Especially when the intervening obstacles which complicates a migration hardly exist within a country according to Everett Lee's theory of migration.