Searching for Modernization: Entrepreneurship Education, Economic Growth, Outmigration and the Need for Change in Rural Nova Scotia, Canada

Abstract

This paper considers the theoretical underpinnings of rural out-migration and economic stagnation, specific to rural Nova Scotia, Canada, and argues that rural Nova Scotia has, in part, misapplied the tenets of modernization. It situates outmigration, and economic stagnation, amongst Modernization Theory and considers how economic rejuvenation, vis a vis entrepreneurship education, can, potentially, revivify the bonds between person and (rural) community. This paper argues three points: first, that rural Nova Scotia is enduring a misapplication of modernization, resulting in a lingering traditionalism that pushes people out and dampens economic growth. Second, that rural Nova Scotia would benefit from a structural shift in its economic model and third, that community economic development through entrepreneurship stands a reasonable chance of reserving the social and economic misfortune in Nova Scotia.