Lessons from the Economic analysis of rural development : a European perspective

We examine the economic factors that portray the space structuration and its change over time. The spatial dynamics leads to adverse effects in the remote rural areas which cannot benefit from aggregation forces; On the contrary the existence of dispersive forces may allow a more even spatial distribution by the means of local polarisation. Then, the paper turns to a discussion of some ley issues of rural development. First is presented the crucial equity versus efficiency aspects of a rural development policy. The second issue in discussion regards the economic factors likely to boost rural development considered as a public good. In such a perspective a collective effort is needed to stimulate dispersive forces on which rural development could rely