This review discusses the challenges and opportunities of German rural areas. Significant differences between East and West persist and many of these have clear rural dimensions. Factors such as CAP reforms, ageing of the German population and migration trends will also have important rural...

Rural Scotland represents an important resource for national development and growth, but large unexploited potential remains. Many of Scotland’s strengths are rural in nature, including an abundant land area, rich natural and cultural resources, higher standards of living, and a stable and...

OECD's comprehensive review of rural policy in Italy. On average, rural regions in Italy have some of the highest GDP per capita among the OECD countries, yet unexploited potential remains. This analysis of rural Italy reveals heterogeneous economic conditions, an increasing elderly population...

The radical transformation that Spanish rural areas have experienced in the past few decades suggest, as it has occurred in many OECD countries, a new approach to rural policy. Spain has recently undertaken a major reform of its rural policies, including the merger of the Ministry of Agriculture...

This publication is a result of the discussions from the OECD 8th Rural Development Policy Conference: "Innovation and modernising the rural economy" which took place in Krasnoyarsk, Russia on 3-5 October 2012. It provides an overview of the two themes of modernisation and innovation, focusing...

This report looks at rural policy in Chile, examining the main trends in rural regions, policies and governance arrangements. It highlights the need to establish a national rural policy framework in Chile, in order to better coordinate the wide range of national policies and programmes currently...

The Sami have lived for time immemorial in an area that today extends across the Kola Peninsula in Russia, northern Finland, northern Norway's coast and inland, and the northern half of Sweden. The Sami play an important role in these northern economies thanks to their use of land, their...

Poland has seen impressive growth in recent years, and yet regional disparities in economic and social outcomes remain large by OECD standards. The overall living conditions in rural communities generally remain below those of urban communities, and rural households face higher poverty rates....

What is the new rural paradigm? Its main characteristics are a focus on places rather than sectors and an emphasis on investments rather than subsidies. In an era of reduced agricultural employment, this report highlights the important and diverse challenges facing rural areas, their unused...