The evaluation of official development programmes has grown tremendously over the past two decades; the public and taxpayers increasingly demand credible assessments of whether aid “works” to improve the lives of the world’s poorest. Global efforts to hold donors and partners accountable...

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...

Agricultural policies are dominated by broad measures such as market price support and general payments to all land, animals or farmers. As a result, it is often difficult to associate a particular policy with any specific objective. Recognising the challenge facing policy makers who wish to...

OECD's review of rural policy in Quebec. It finds that 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...

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...