INVESTMENT AND INNOVATION IN SUPPORT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA

Globalization, migration trends, information’s, changes in rural policies and theemergence of important non-farm niche markets put rural regions in direct competitionconfronting them with threats and opportunities that require new policy approaches at thenational and sub-national level. Against this fast changing scenario, policy makers need tore-think their priorities for rural investments. These research’s paper try to answer to keyquestions: 1) What sectors hold potential for rural development? 2) What kind of investmentsand policies can help release such potential? Evidence from across the OECD shows that thecapacity of regions, whether urban or rural, to support processes of learning and innovationis a key source of competitive advantage. Innovation in rural areas can be about ‘doingtraditional activities in a new way’, about starting up new businesses or about changing theway government interacts with citizens. In all these cases innovation is strongly linked withsocial processes such as the creation of networks, the strengthening of local identities, andthe creation and dissemination of knowledge.