Rural Development Topics

Promoting Growth in All Regions

This publication highlights the importance of promoting growth in all types of OECD regions, particularly in under-developed ones. Helping under-developed regions to catch up will have a positive impact on a country’s national growth; in some cases more so than in already well-developed regions. Furthermore such growth helps to build  a fairer society, in which no territories and their people are left behind. An important question is whether this potential to catch up is possible?  The evidence suggests that this IS the case.  Examinations of patterns of growth reveal that underdeveloped rural and intermediate regions tend to grow faster. Their catching-up potentially largely depends on human capital development, infrastructure and innovation-related activities but also on institutional factors and policies. This publication is based on anlaysis among all OECD regions and 23 case study regions from ten OECD countries over the period 1995-2007.

 Linking Renewable Energy to Rural Development

Rural Policy Reviews

Rural Policy Reviews: England, United Kingdom (2011)

Rural England plays a significant role in the economy of the United Kingdom, but an even larger social and cultural role. And it is unique among OECD regions, in that it is geographically compact, with rural inhabitants generally no more than a half hour’s drive from an urban area. There is thus a vast amount of interaction between rural and urban populations in England.

England’s rural population is, on average, doing better than the urban population across a broad range of socio-economic indicators. Nevertheless, rural England is also struggling with pockets of poverty and social exclusion, difficulties in maintaining access to high quality public services, an ageing population, and, most importantly, a widespread shortage of affordable housing.

The government has adopted mainstreaming as its rural policy strategy. The objective of mainstreaming is to ensure that people in rural England have access to the same policies and programmes as those available in urban England. While mainstreaming is an attractive policy approach, especially in a country with strong rural-urban interactions such as England, it has proved challenging to implement for different reasons. This report examines the mainstreaming policy response as applied to rural England and suggests ways to increase its effectiveness.

The report will interest academics and policy makers alike as it includes a discussion on governance structures and decentralisation; delivering public services; economic development; and the importance of improving connectivity in the context of rural areas.  While the focus is on rural England, other OECD member countries will also benefit from the insights provided.

Rural Policy Reviews: Québec, Canada (2010)

In rural Québec, both population and personal income are growing, on average, and the province’s economic base continues to diversify. Land occupancy is more homogenous than in the rest of Canada, due to the presence of denser networks of small and medium-sized communities. However, mirroring the situation at the national level, the province displays large regional disparities. The sustainability of some rural communities, especially if remote and resource-based, is challenged by demographic and economic decline. In this context, Québec has developed one of the most advanced rural policy approaches in the OECD, closely in line with the framework suggested in the OECD’s New Rural Paradigm. The province’s rural policy does not have a sectoral focus, and aims at community empowerment and land occupancy.  

To maximise returns on its rural policy investments, Québec needs to integrate social development more strongly with economic and entrepreneurial development, and further strengthen the supra-local level of government as the centre for rural and territorial development strategies. This should be combined with stabilisation measures in lagging areas, through the accumulation of human capital and enhanced access to land in predominantly rural territories. To address environmental challenges, natural resources should be protected both in the outskirts of metropolitan zones and in remote areas. 

Rural Policy Reviews: Strategies to Improve Rural Service Delivery (2010)

The service sector, in aggregate, now dominates total employment and value-added in OECD countries, accounting for more than 70% of these two measures, and continues to increase in importance. While services may play a slightly smaller role in rural regions than in urban areas, they are the dominant component of the rural economy. It is clear that a vibrant service sector is both vital for a prosperous local economy and crucial for meeting the needs of rural citizens. 

This book provides an overview of the underlying problems in delivering services to rural regions.  It contains a conceptual structure for thinking about rural service delivery problems and a strategy for thinking about the role of government in service delivery, as well as a discussion of the role that innovation and public management tools like co-design and co-delivery can play in designing better service delivery approaches.  Also included are examples of different, successful policy strategies drawn from OECD countries.

Rural Policy Reviews: Spain (2009)

The radical transformation that Spanish rural areas have experienced in the past few decades suggest, as it has occurred in many OECD countries, a new approach to rural policy. Spain has recently undertaken a major reform of its rural policies, including the merger of the Ministry of Agriculture with the Ministry of the Environment and the recently approved Law on Sustainable Development of Rural Areas.  This new framework creates a multi-sectoral and place-based “rural policy of state”, making Spain better equipped to address the challenges and opportunities of rural areas.

This report – undertaken at the same time as the reforms were being implemented – will interest both policy makers engaged in similar reform processes and others working on issues such the “political economy” of reforms, rural tourism, renewable energies, rural clusters, development of peri-urban areas and public service delivery in remote rural areas.

Rural Policy Reviews: Italy (2009)

On average, rural regions in Italy have some of the highest GDP per capita among the OECD countries, yet unexploited potential remains. This analysis of rural Italy reveals heterogeneous economic conditions, an increasing elderly population and a diminished focus on environmental concerns. This suggests the need for a broader rural policy approach that reflects the changing demands upon rural resources and that considers other aspects of rurality including health, education and quality of life.

Rural Policy Reviews: China (2009)

With more than 700 million residents living in rural areas, China is still a predominantly rural country. But despite substantial improvements in standards of living, the Chinese countryside is largely lagging behind. This report analyses the key socio-economic forces at work in China's rural areas and discusses the current government strategy for rural development. It argues that in order to bridge rural-urban divides the current policy approach needs to go further in recognising rural-urban complementarities beyond agriculture and that food-security targets need to be balanced with wider rural development objectives.

Rural Policy Reviews: Scotland (2008)

Rural Scotland represents an important resource for national development and growth, but large unexploited potential remains. Many of Scotland’s strengths are rural in nature, including an abundant land area, rich natural and cultural resources, higher standards of living, and a stable and relatively diversified economy with good employment and entrepreneurship indicators. This comprehensive review of rural policy in Scotland recommends a more integrated approach to rural policy which addresses land and housing related issues, economic diversification in key emerging sectors, service delivery improvements and actions to exploit rural-urban linkages.

Rural Policy Reviews: The Netherlands (2008)

Faced with high population density, close proximity of urban areas and urban-rural linkages, rural areas in the Netherlands have witnessed a gradual disappearance of characteristically rural landscapes and a deterioration of biodiversity. Future developments will increase pressures on rural land use, making a policy framework to address these challenges only more pertinent.

This comprehensive review of rural policy in the Netherlands examines the character of rural areas in the Netherlands and how they have evolved.  It then examines rural policies and their decentralisation, rural land use planning, and landscape and nature policies. The final chapters discusses how to  strengthen rural policies in the Netherlands.  The book includes a series of recommendations.

Rural Policy Reviews: Finland (2008)

Finland is one of the most rural countries within the OECD, and it is also one of the early adopters of a multi-sectoral approach to rural policy. The Finnish model of rural policy has been reasonably successful in achieving coherence among sectoral policies oriented to rural areas (the so-called broad rural policy) and in tailoring specific programmes to promote rural development (the so-called narrow rural policy). This reviews examines developments in Finnish rural policy since the last review in 1995, examining in particular public service delivery and competitiveness and business environment policies.

Rural Policy Reviews: Mexico (2007)

The challenges faced by Mexico’s rural areas are significant. Mexico's countryside is home to a large population (more than the overall population of many OECD countries) that is highly dispersed and largely living in poverty. The potential of these areas is however significant, as their vast (and young) human resources, their natural, cultural and physical assets could provide, in a more diversified economy, a greater contribution to national development.

This review shows that the challenges and potential of rural areas are spatially differentiated and therefore require a place-based policy approach. The Mexican government has had significant success in framing a multi-sector rural policy. Some of these accomplishments can provide examples of best practice for other OECD countries. The continuity and institutionalization of these advances are a priority. In addition, efforts should be devoted to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of rural development programmes and to guaranteeing coherence with other major sectoral policies. This will contribute to addressing the country's major territorial and individual inequalities and will transform rural regions into sources of national development. 

Rural Policy Reviews: Germany (2007)

This review discusses the challenges and opportunities of German rural areas. Significant differences between East and West persist and many of these have clear rural dimensions. Factors such as CAP reforms, ageing of the German population and migration trends will also have important rural implications. Many of these issues involve more than rural policy, but rural policy has a place in resolving all of the key issues. However, for rural policy to be an effective part of the policy process it will have to evolve beyond the existing limits in Germany. This review states that Germany's current approach to rural development and rural policy is mainly sectoral and thus does not fully capture the diversity of rural regions.

The New Rural Paradigm: Policies and Governance (2006)

What is the new rural paradigm? Its main characteristics are a focus on places rather than sectors and an emphasis on investments rather than subsidies. In an era of reduced agricultural employment, this report highlights the important and diverse challenges facing rural areas, their unused potential, and the inability of sectoral policy to address this. It also provides an overview of the main socio-economic trends affecting rural areas across the OECD. Further, it addresses the governance requirements of the new cross-sectoral approach to rural policy.

New Approaches to Rural Policy: Lessons from Around the World (2005)

This book presents the proceedings of a conference held near Washington, DC (Airlie, Virginia) to discuss the need for innovative new approaches to rural policy. US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan opened the conference by stressing the crucial importance of flexibility in enhancing economic welfare and economic growth, cautioning policy makers to "be careful when utilisng subsidies as they have exceptionally negative long-term implications". Other presentations discuss regional partnerships, redefining regions, rural entrepreneurship, rural policy and regional development, federal co-ordination, and the future of rural policy.

The Future of Rural Policy (2002)

This book examines the major rural developments and the issues that policy makers have been dealing with across the OECD over the last two decades.  The OECD Conference, held in Siena, Italy, in July 2002, on the Future of Rural Policy, identified the need for rural policies to look beyond agriculture and offer new trajectories of development.  It concluded that the major shift necessary to guarantee the future vitality of rural regions is the diversification of their economies.  The papers examine key critical issues, including the EU LEADER Community Initiative and the Mexican Micro-region programme and provide a new approach that recognises the importance of the interdependence between rural and urban areas, fostering investment (rather than distributing subsidies).  This approach also emphasises governance structures that get the locals involved in grass root initiatives to develop and implement new policies.  This book is for practitioners and policy makers involved in grass root policies.

Territorial Reviews

Territorial Reviews: Moravska Trebova-Jeckivo, Czech Republic (2003)

This report brings into light an emerging framework, with a new territorial unit for local initiative in the Czech Republic: the micro-region. It investigates the issues at stake in the development of these voluntary entities, that can be characterised as main partners for regions, although they do not correspond to an administrative level.

Territorial Reviews: Siena, Italy (2002)

Siena, a predominantly rural province in central Italy, has enjoyed steady economic growth throughout the post-war period. This success has its roots in a diverse economy based on manufacturing, services, high-value-added agriculture and a dynamic tourism sector. Nonetheless, it is these last two sectors that give Siena its main competitive advantage: an outstanding concentration of high-quality environmental and cultural resources which are unique to the region.

The promotion of different sustainable development initiatives has been motivated by the need to ensure the valorisation and conservation of this major asset. This is most apparent in the effort to ensure that the region's development is not spoilt by the impact of mass tourism and an uncoordinated offer. The agrarian landscape also faces an uncertain future as the bulk of the cultivated land area remains dependent on EU subsidies, notwithstanding the market success of many agricultural producers. To respond to the challenges of sustainable development, Siena needs to fully integrate its development objectives with the most effective means to bring them about, in a co-ordinated and long-term planning exercise.

The Territorial Review of Siena is part of a wider programme of National and Regional Territorial Reviews undertaken by the OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee. The overall aim of the Territorial Review series is to provide practical policy advice to governments. Territorial Reviews focus on three types of regions (urban, intermediate and rural), with a view to contributing to a wider understanding of the challenges faced by these regions and the available options for practical solutions.

Territorial Reviews: Tzoumerka, Greece (2002)

The Tzoumerka is a mountainous area in Northwestern Greece that presents considerable development challenges with respect to economic growth, social cohesion and governance. The area is highly dependent on traditional agricultural activities that are only made viable by considerable Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support. Unfortunately, this support will almost inevitably decline. As incentives to modernise agricultural activities and promote other business activity have been ineffective, local development policy will need to go farther. It must direct the local population away from old survival habits to investing in capabilities required of new economic projects. The policy instruments that are likely to be most effective in creating a new mindset will consist in identifying and incubating a small number of successful initiatives with strong demonstration effects. Strategies identified include processing raw agricultural products into premium foodstuffs, to appeal to contemporary demand trends, and harnessing the valuable tourism resources of the area in order to attract visitors who increasingly seek out authenticity in their tourism experiences.
The Territorial Review of Tzoumerka is integrated in a wider programme of National and Regional Territorial Reviews undertaken by the OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee. The overall aim of the Territorial Reviews is to provide practical policy advice to governments. Territorial reviews focus on three types of regions (urban, intermediate and rural). They contribute to a wider understanding of the challenges these regions face and their options for practical solutions.

Territorial Reviews: Teruel, Spain (2001)

The Territorial Review of Teruel is integrated in a wider program of National and Regional Territorial Reviews undertaken by the OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee. The overall aim of the territorial review series is to provide practical policy advice to governments. In this sense, the use of regional reviews is a key complement to the statistical analysis and the comparative analysis of policy approaches and instruments. The study of countries and regions belonging to specific types (urban, intermediate, rural) provides practical examples of challenges and potential responses.
The Spanish Province of Teruel is a remote rural area located in the dynamic north-east corner of Spain. The region is a typical, albeit extreme, example of a low density remote area with an economic base facing serious challenges and little more than its own assets to rely on for its economic development. This book focuses mainly on how the area’s substantial natural and cultural resources can make a more important contribution in a forward-looking and integrated development strategy.

 Case Studies on Place-based Policies for Rural Development

 Policy briefs