IMPACTS OF CAP REFORM ON RURAL EMPLOYMENT: A MULTIMODELING CROSS COUNTRY APPROACH

Expected impacts due to recently introduced CAP reforms can be felt beyond the agricultural sector affecting the entire regional economy. Employment levels will be affected within the farming sector and probably non-agricultural sector will feel the pinch too. Policies influencing employment levels attract the attention of the media and the public. Therefore, policy makers are more sensitive on employment issues than rural and agricultural policies as it is widely admitted that no vibrant regions in Europe can be envisioned without enhancing job opportunities. The influence of CAP reform on employment has not been thoroughly studied within a comprehensive approach, accounting for agricultural and non-agricultural effects and covering the diversity of EU rural regions. In this research work, five EU regions [Emilia Romagna (IT), East Wales (UK), Anatoliki Makedonia and Thraki (GR), Östergötland (SWE) and Kassel (GER)] have been selected and studied to identify and measure CAP’s effects on employment throughout the regional economy. A framework of three different approaches (Participatory Process/desk research, PMP, I-O) was developed and then applied to those five EU regions to trace out the current and anticipated employment effects of Pillar I and II. The main focus of this work is on consolidating results derived from different models, applied to five EU regions, to deduce valuable policy generalizations and to derive conclusions that guide policy makers on decisions related to regional and rural development. The results offer a comprehensive picture of the impacts of CAP reforms on regional economies and employment enriching the understanding of the range and diversity of contexts in which CAP is being applied.CAP reform, rural employment, I/O analysis, PMP, qualitative analysis., Agricultural and Food Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q12, Q18, R15.,