Why Local Economies Differ (DORA prepublication extracts) (original) (raw)
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Dynamics of Rural Areas (DORA): The Swedish case studies
2001
Understanding differential economic performance at local and regional levels is a key element in devising practical strategies and programmes for sustainable rural and regional development in different contexts. The project DORA -Dynamics of Rural Areas deals with regional and local differences in rural Europe. The DORA project seeks to improve our understanding of the factors underlying and explaining persistent differences in economic performance between rural localities. The basic hypothesis is that the differential development of rural areas can be explained by a combination of 'tangible' and 'less tangible' factors and the way in which these interact in specific national, regional and local contexts. Such factors not only define different opportunities and constraints for local development, but also illustrate how effective the local and regional system is in tapping resources and opportunities and ameliorating constraints. This paper provides a discussion of the preliminary results for the Swedish case study areas based on the analysis of ten factors as well as the interrelationships between them to explain differential economic performance and gives an account of methodological challenges when combining qualitative and quantitative methods.
Differential Economic Performance (DEP) in the Periphery: Evidence from Swedish rural areas
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2003
Understanding Differential Economic Performance (DEP) at the local and regional level is a key element in devising practical strategies and programmes for sustainable regional development in different contexts. This paper contributes to the understanding of the factors underlying persistent differences in DEP between rural localities. The basic hypothesis is that the DEP of rural areas can be explained by a combination of 'tangible' and 'less tangible' factors and the way in which these interact in specific national, regional and local contexts. Natural and human resources, infrastructure, economic structure and investments are together with institutions, networks and community values the most decisive factors that help to characterise DEP for the Swedish case studies. Findings show that such factors not only define the different opportunities and constraints for local development, but also illustrate how effective the local and regional system is in tapping into resources and opportunities and in ameliorating constraints. This sheds light on the importance of taking a broader perspective regarding policies towards regional development, making them much more focused on contextual and environmental aspects than uni-faceted, sectoral measures. The paper also provides a discussion of the implications of the results for policy and gives an account of new research questions for future studies.
Socio-Economic Patterns and Trends in Rural Development in EU
2012
Rural areas cover most of the European Union and are inhabited by nearly half of its population. They provide living space and a means of livelihood for millions of people, is the source of much of the food, provide a number of basic raw materials for the industry as well as they represent a category of recreation space, attractive to visitors. The specific character of rural areas within the European Union is determined by their social and cultural identity. Each of the rural areas has a unique geographical location, natural resources, history, ethnic structure of the population, religion and traditions, urban network, and economic potential. They are characterized by a distinctive way of life, closer relationships between people, direct contact with nature, which is a symbol of healthy living environment. Understanding their nature goes beyond the narrow framework of agriculture and includes contemporary views on multifunctional agriculture, economic diversification of the farm fo...
Towards a framework for understanding regional rural development
Unfolding webs. Assen: …, 2008
In the year 2000 a multidisciplinary team of social scientists from several European countries argued, in a joint article published in Sociologia Ruralis (2000), that rural development basically was practice without theory (van der Ploeg et al. 2000) 2. Since then, rural development processes in Europe have gained considerable momentum and resulted in a dazzling array of new practices characterized by new dynamics and unanticipated impacts. Nevertheless, in 2006 the OECD again referred to the need for 'a new research agenda in rural development' (2006:19), implying that the nature, dynamics and heterogeneity of rural development processes, as they unfold in practice, were inadequately expressed in new theoretical frameworks. At the same time, rural development policies have continued to develop at supra-national, national, regional and local levels and, in the social sciences there have been some major shifts (away from earlier and, in retrospect, too limited and inflexible, models) that allow for a better understanding of a rapidly changing world. At the crossroads of changing practices, policies and theories it is now possible, we believe, to make a substantive step forward. What we aim for, in this collection of papers, is to tie together the many recent and significant achievements in practice, theory and policy in order to outline a comprehensive theory on rural development. The attempt to construct such a theory also corresponds to a call, formulated by the European Commission in its 6th Framework Programme, for an 'analysis of conceptual aspects of sustainable and integrated rural development' (EC 2005:32). Departing from the observation that 'a living countryside is essential for farming, as agricultural activity is essential for a living countryside', this call signals that 'rural development policy is […] no longer based on agriculture alone. Increased diversification, innovation and value added of products and services, both within and beyond the agricultural sector, are indispensable in order to promote integrated and sustainable rural development' (ibid). The FP6 document also observes that: 2 Unfolding Webs 'Rural development policy has been […] reinforced by CAP reform [which is] characterized by new measures designed to promote a living countryside, to preserve its diversity and to ensure restructuring and the improved competitiveness of the farming sector'. It therefore proposes that 'a key theme for research, strengthened by this widening of the rural policy area, is the mutual interactions that take place between agriculture, the environment and other aspects, social and economic, of the wider rural development processes'(ibid.). In short, the 6 th Framework Programme calls for a reconceptualization of the role of agriculture within the framework of wider rural development processes. This reconceptualization must account for, and simultaneously reflect, the large heterogeneity of Europe's rural regions, thus allowing for adequate inputs into the processes of policy formulation and implementation. At the same time, it must go beyond former sectoral approaches: it is to be interdisciplinary and holistic (ibid). Central to the approach that is to be introduced in this volume are the closely interconnected notions of (1) rural development, (2) the web that underlies and shapes rural development processes and (3) the diversity of rural regions. Rural regions differ in terms of their webs; in turn, the specificity of the web helps to explain the particularity of a rural region and its development trajectory. The web that we refer to is the pattern of interrelations, interactions, exchanges and mutual externalities within rural societies. This pattern embodies and describes the mutual interactions that take place between agriculture, the socioeconomic context in which it is embedded and the rural development process(es) within which it is a constituting element. In short: the web interlinks activities, processes, people and resources and, simultaneously, it shapes the ways in which they unfold. A central hypothesis underlying this text is that the development of such a web, contributes to the performance of regional rural economies. We hypothesize that the presence of a smoothly functioning and comprehensive web explains the performance of a regional economy, its comparative advantages, its competitiveness, innovativeness and sustainability, as well as the quality of life that it offers to its people. Important features of such webs are their density, multi-dimensionality, impacts and dynamics. Rurality and rural development The rural is the place where the ongoing encounter, interaction and mutual transformation (in short: the co-production) of man and living nature is located. This encounter occurs through a wide range of different practices, which are spatially and temporally bounded. These include, A Framework for Understanding Regional Rural Development 3 agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, rural tourism, rural sports and living in the countryside 3. Through co-production living nature is used, reproduced and transformed into a rich variety of often highly contrasting expressions. Particular landscapes, containing specific land-use and settlement patterns, specific levels of biodiversity, but also particular breeds and food products, are among the many outcomes. Co-production equally shapes and transforms the social-the rural has been characterized, from ancient times onwards, by particular institutions (such as the family enterprise, the centrality of crafts), relations (e.g. particular town-countryside relations), identities and subcultures. Within the framework of the rural both the social and the natural co-evolved in a specific, and often mutually reinforcing, way.
Differenciating between Rural Areas : Indicators and Typologies
2008
The study of regional disparities on the European scale is often conducted with the NUTS3 or NUTS2 statistical units of the Eurostat statistical office. Such a reading scale is too loose to allow a precise analysis of the qualitative differentiations between rural areas. This paper aims at suggesting a methodological re-positioning (a) on an efficient statistical definition of rural areas, and (b) on the proper scale of the analysis of rural facts, in order to isolate rural areas among global statistical tables and to build qualitative typologies on the current evolutions of the Central European Countryside. The example of Hungary will then be used as a concrete case-study.
A rural typology for strategic European policies
Land Use Policy, 2012
The role that the agricultural sector plays in rural areas has considerably changed in the last five decades, and is reflected in a major shift towards multi-dimensional, multi-sectoral land use. Existing European rural typologies are mostly one-dimensional, based on a rather coarse administrative scale data and are unable to define adequately the diversity of the regions involved. The rural typology presented in this paper has been produced as a response to a new policy need for typologies addressing the diversity in regional rurality. This paper describes the method developed and explores the relevance of the results for future rural policies. This new rural typology incorporates two dimensions identified by statistical screening of a range of geographical and socioeconomic data related to the territorial variation of European rural land. The use of high-resolution raster data at 1 km 2 resolution provides large flexibility for the construction of individual classifications, with a variable number of classes for a variety of objectives. In the example presented, nine divisions were produced, which were subsequently summarised into three rural classes termed Peri-urban, Rural and Deep Rural. The rural typology enables the consistent identification of comparable rural areas and intergradations with urban land in the European territory, and describes the degree of generalisation that is possible. In addition, it provides a spatially explicit framework for scientific analysis and communication to both European policy makers and local stakeholders.
2004
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the overall impact produced by the application of European development policies for rural areas of the Italian Marche region for the period 2000-2003. Towards this aim, the input-output approach is adopted. A Marche regional I-O table is firstly constructed using a hybrid method. To evaluate the overall impact throughout the territory, two models are developed and applied recursively: an interregional I-O model and a gravity model. As for the former, sub-interregional I-O tables are constructed, where the regions under study are, on one hand, the functional area receiving funds and, on the other hand, the rest of the Marche region. The gravity model is instead used to allocate among the other areas the impact calculated for the rest of the region. To show how the impact is distributed among regional areas, a Geographical Information System is used. The paper concludes illustrating the main results in terms of overall impact generated by pol...