THE ROLE OF EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME IN POPULATION STABILITY IN RURAL SETTLEMENTS: A CASE STUDY OF VILLAGES IN THE CENTRAL PART OF BIRJAND COUNTY

Resumen

One of the most important issues facing the villages today is the process of migration of the young and active population from villages, which compromises population stability in rural settlements. Thus, the question of what factors have basically affected population stability in rural areas has always been at stake. Accordingly, given the importance of the issue and the increasing trend of rural instability, this study seeks to investigate the factors affecting population stability in rural settlements of the central part of Birjand County. The method used in this research is descriptive – analytical. The statistical population consists of all the villages in the central part of Birjand County which had a population of over 100 people (89 villages) in the 2016 Census. To determine the statistical sample, 10% of the statistical population that had the largest population decline from 2006 to 2016 was selected. Then, based on the number of households in these 9 villages (691 households), 247 households were chosen as the statistical sample to complete the questionnaire using Cochran formula, and spatial distribution of the questionnaire was conducted among them. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics methods have been employed with the aid of SPSS software. The obtained results demonstrated that from the respondents' point of view, the variables of employment and income have had an impact on population stability of above-average rural settlements while income has made the greatest effect on population stability in rural settlements. According to the results of one-sample t-test and Friedman test, employment and income have a significant impact on population stability of rural settlements. Further, there was a significant difference between the variables of employment and income in the mean rank, and the variable of income has gained the highest rank; that is, income has had the greatest impact on population stability in rural settlements, and employment is ranked second.