Current population trends and the COVID-19 pandemic reinforce the need for efficient public service provision while guaranteeing good access to all. Population decline and ageing in rural regions affect the provision of services through lower economies of scale and scope, professional shortages...

The study is part of the OECD work stream Preparing Regions for Demographic Change, a megatrend that affects several important dimensions of public policy. The following three of them are particular relevant for Korea’s regions and rural places: (i) workforce dimension, (ii) social dimension...

Across the world, people’s daily activities centre around clusters of population and economic activity. Settlements – cities, towns and villages – provide jobs and access to services for their own residents and others nearby. The quality of access to those services is key to promoting...