Who are the moonlighters and why they moonlight: Evidence for rural communities

Abstract

This paper examines the incidence of and reasons for moonlighting in the context of rural communities where multiple-job holding is viewed as an important means of promoting sustainability of these communities. Drawing upon a unique dataset of a relatively homogeneous population living in an isolated area on the west coast of Scotland, where employment opportunities are limited, dual-job holding is investigated within the fisheries and aquaculture industries. Evidence is found that those who moonlight do not do so primarily for financial reasons, and that educational attainment has a positive impact on the incidence of dual-job holding.The data used in this study has been collected for the purposes of the project “Aquaculture and Coastal Economic and Social Sustainability”, financed by the EU (project no. Q5RS-2000-31151)