Presentation made at the launch of the OECD publication Rural well-being: Geography of opportunities on 5 October 2020. Find out more: https://oe.cd/3g4 More about OECD work on rural development: http://www.oecd.org/regional/rural-development/ Rural well-being: Geography of opportunities

1. Rural Well-being:
Launching event, 5 October, Paris
Geography of Opportunities
Jose Enrique Garcilazo, OECD

2. 1. Rural places are diverse and they each require a distinct approach
Source: Global
Monitoring Report 2013,
IMF/World Bank
Opportunities
Challenges
Rural outside, but in close
proximity to a FUA
Rural remote
Rural inside a functional
urban area (FUA)
• Loss of control over the future
• Activities concentrate in the urban core
• Managing land value pressures
• Matching of skills
• A more stable future
• Potential to capture urban benefits while
avoiding the negatives
• Conflicts between new residents and locals
• Avoiding sprawl
• Competition for land and landscape
• Potential to attract high-income households
seeking a high quality of life
• Relatively easy access to advanced services and
urban culture
• Good access to transport
• Highly specialised economies subject to booms and busts
• Limited connectivity and large distances between
settlements
• High per capita costs of services
• Absolute advantage in production of natural
resources-based outputs
• Attractive for firms that need access to an urban
areas but not on a daily basis
• Can offer unique environments that can be
attractive to firms and individuals
The simplified area economy …and a more realistic representation

3. 2. Urban and rural places are strongly interdependent
• 29% of population live in rural regions (347 million)
• 21% in rural regions near cities (250 million)
• 8% in remote regions (97 million)
Many shades of rural
• Large metropolitan regions are
clearly more urban
• Rural is a bit everywhere
• Regions in-between are rural to
varying degrees
• Remote regions clearly more rural
A typology of regions to emphasise linkages

4. 3. Rural places face stronger demographic pressures

5. 4. Rural-urban divides have grown since the global financial crisis
• Prior to the 2008 crisis, remote
rural regions and those near a
smaller city were growing
fastest and catching up
• Since the crisis, their growth,
has fallen sharply, contributing
to growing regional inequities
• The crisis revealed the higher
vulnerability of remote rural
regions and those near a smaller
city to economic shocks
Regions with a city >1M
Regions with a city >250K
Remote regions
Regions near a city
>250K
Regions with/near a
city <250K
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 55000 60000
GDP pc Growth(%)
GDP pc, 2000, 2017 (USD)
Post-crisis (2008-2017) Pre-crisis (2000-2007)
# of people
200M
30M
Note: 2017 extrapolated values for France and Japan based on 2001-16 regional growth rates. Based on available data for 1 530 TL3 regions in 28
countries. GDP is in USD PPP with base year 2015.
Source: (OECD, 2019) OECD Regional Statistics (database), http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/region-data-en

6. 5. Megatrends are shaping the context for rural places and opportunities

7. Emphasis on:
 Partnerships between
government, the private
and civil society
 Building linkages
between rural areas and
cities
A people-centred approach will help ensure rural areas can
embrace change and build positive futures
The Rural Well-being Policy Framework

8. The Framework identifies a number of policy recommendations
• Enhancing the quality and availability
of digital tools and skills
• Designing resilient services and
providing targeted mentoring
initiatives
• Developing ‘silver’ services to
support the elderly population
• Supporting social innovations that
target societal challenges
• Developing targeted programmes for
youth and newcomers
• Facilitating the development of
renewable energies
• Identifying ways to account for and
create value from eco-system
services
• Promoting sustainable land-use a
part of the circular and bio-
economy.
• Rethinking transportation
for rural dwellers
Enhancing productivity
and competitiveness
Planning to demographic
change and social innovation
Shifting to a
low-carbon economy
ECONOMY
SOCIAL
• Deepening smart specialisation
strategies and promoting innovation.
• Supporting SME growth
• Facilitating access to sources of
financing for rural firms.
• Retaining more value in rural
communities
ENVIRONMENTAL

9. The OECD Principles on Rural Policy
Find out how other countries are implementing rural
policies in our dedicated country notes HERE!

10. COVID Policy Implications of Coronavirus Crisis for Rural Development
A “new normality” and new opportunities in rural places
Although policy responses have focused on
addressing rural vulnerabilities in 4 policy areas …
…there are a number of opportunities emerging for
rural places from the COVID-19 crisis
2. Strengthening
basic services in
rural places
3. Supporting rural
workers and
businesses
4. Improving digital
infrastructure and
accessibility
1. Improving health
responses & access
to medical services
• High share of essential workers
• Low share of jobs that can be done
remotely.
• Weak availability quality broadband and
lower digital skill levels
• An older, poorer, less healthy population
• Limited health service capabilities (i.e.
lack of ICU beds and specialised doctors)
• Logistical issues with testing
Rural vulnerabilities
Policy Implications of Coronavirus Crisis for Rural
Development, June 2020:

11. Rural Well-being: Geography of Opportunities
The Rural Well-being Policy Framework provides guidance for:
• Delivering improved well-being for rural dwellers
• Understanding the growth dynamics of low-density
economies
• Deploying a range of policy instruments
• Fostering a multi-sectoral approach that engages all
stakeholders
• Delivering integrated policies that match the needs and
circumstances of different rural economies
• Understanding the spectrum of rural regions ranging from
those in an FUA to remote ones
Our full report, now available!
Read our report at: https://oe.cd./3fi