Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | How to Obtain this Publication | Related Documents
This report focuses on the reorientation of policy that has been observed through a series of reviews of territorial policy at the national level and a number of case studies of policy strategies in rural regions. The evidence suggests that the shift in policy towards a "new rural paradigm" concerns both 1) changes in the policy focus and 2) adjustments to the governance structure, most notably:
How are rural regions coping with economic change? What is the weight of agriculture and agriculture subsidies in rural economies? Why and how is the approach to rural policy evolving? Who implements policy for rural regions? Do integrated rural policies work? These are the questions that this cross-OECD study addresses, building on the findings of the conferences held in Warrenton, Virginia (US) and Oaxaca (Mexico), and on several case studies on rural regions perfomed in the past years and contributed by member countries.
Chapter 1 The State of Rural Regions
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the main socio-economic trends affecting rural areas across the OECD. This chapter highlights the important and diverse challenges facing rural areas, their unused potential and the inability of sectoral policy to address this. The chapter analyses and provides meaningful comparisons of rural regions across OECD Countries, stating some of the main shared challenges and highlighting evidence of heterogeneity that are driving the reconsideration of rural policy in OECD countries. The chapter then addresses the specific place of agriculture in the rural economy, and discusses the role of agricultural policy, in particular the support to commodity production, in developing rural regions. Some of the most relevant findings are the following facts:
Chapter 2 Rural Policy: New Approaches
The tools and policies focused on agriculture address only a subset of the wide array of issues relevant to the development of rural regions and the well-being of their inhabitants. A cross-sectoral approach to rural policy encompasses a wider range of objectives and a different set of tools. These objectives include equity, competitiveness and the stewardship of rural resources. In this context, the justification for public intervention in rural areas tends to be similar across OECD countries: overcoming market failures and ensuring provision of certain public goods; either those that are considered as “rights” (e.g., basic public services) or those that can trigger development (e.g., amenities, collective services for businesses, etc.).
Chapter 2 discusses the most defining characteristics of a “new rural paradigm”, that is the place-based approach to rural policy that is being developed in several OECD countries. The chapter discusses factors driving reforms in rural policy making and presents some of the key areas for rural development. It then explores through several case studies, how OECD countries have developed a number of policy initiatives with an integrated approach to meet the needs and opportunities of their rural regions:
Chapter 3 Governance Strategies to Support Rural Policy
The “new rural paradigm” requires important changes in how policies are conceived and implemented to include a cross-cutting and multi-level governance approach. Traditional hierarchical administrative structures are likely to be inadequate to administer these policies effectively and adjustments are thus needed along three key governance dimensions: horizontally at both the central and the local levels and vertically across levels of government.
Chapter 3 addresses the governance requirements of the new cross-sectoral approach to rural policy. The chapter underlines the importance of more and better co-ordination across and within levels of government and highlights major knowledge gaps and methodological challenges that need to be addressed by future research. This chapter seeks to highlight the ways in which OECD countries may promote governance structures that support rural policy goals.
How to Obtain this Publication
Readers can access the full version of The New Rural Paradigm: Policies and Governance choosing from the following options:
Related Documents