The Future of Rural Manufacturing provides insights on the transformations that have occurred in manufacturing across rural regions in recent decades. It describes opportunities and challenges in this context, highlighting those relating to climate and demographic change and digitalisation, as well as shifting patterns in globalisation.

This book examines the major rural developments and the issues that policy makers have been dealing with across the OECD over the last two decades.

Rural Well-being: Geography of Opportunities presents the latest iteration on this policy framework, reflecting several important changes in rural development in recent years. Fully taking into account the variety of situations characterising rural regions, the new policy framework leverages improved data and analysis while broadening the scope from economic focus to encompass the environmental and social dimensions of well-being.

The study is part of the OECD work stream Preparing Regions for Demographic Change, a megatrend that affects several important dimensions of public policy. The following three of them are particular relevant for Korea’s regions and rural places: (i) workforce dimension, (ii) social dimension and (iii) governance dimension. The report consists of three chapters.

Rural societies around the world are changing in fundamental ways, both at their own initiative and in response to external forces. The Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies examines the organisation and transformation of rural society in more developed regions of the world, taking an interdisciplinary and problem-focused approach. Written by leading social scientists from many countries, it addresses emerging issues and challenges in innovative and provocative ways to inform future policy. This volume is organised around eight emerging social, economic and environmental challenges: Demographic change. Economic transformations. Food systems and land. Environment and resources. Changing configurations of gender and rural society. Social and economic equality. Social dynamics and institutional capacity. Power and governance. Cross-cutting these challenges are the growing interdependence of rural and urban; the rise in inequality within and between places; the impact of fiscal crisis on rural societies; neoliberalism, power and agency; and rural areas as potential sites of resistance. The Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies is required reading for anyone concerned with the future of rural areas.

Bringing together case studies from Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal and the UK, this book examines the contribution of entrepreneurial ventures and new technology in stimulating economic development in rural locations. It looks at instances of 'good practice' in terms of both public and private initiatives, and develops a coherent combination of policy objectives facilitating the long-term economic development of the countryside. Firstly analyzing the key causes and effects of economic restructuring currently affecting Europe's rural areas, the book then explores the consequences that European integration and 'globalization' have had and will have in future. It identifies sources of entrepreneurship and examines their distribution between different gender, age and other social groupings. The book continues to evaluate the extent to which the existing institutional, social and technological environment and infrastructure encourages and facilitates entrepreneurship.

In contrast to falling rates in low density peri-urban and rural remote areas, high density peri-urban areas in Switzerland recorded double the rate of labour productivity growth than the national average. This report examines the Swiss regional innovation system and how it can boost productivity growth in rural regions by enhancing innovation.

Sweden’s northern region, Upper Norrland, is one of the most important mining regions in Europe and has the potential to become a global leader in environmentally sustainable mining. This study identifies how Västerbotten and Norrbotten can build on their competitive advantages and address current and future challenges to support a resilient future through sustainable mining.

This book presents the proceedings of a conference held near Washington, DC (Airlie, Virginia) to discuss the need for innovative new approaches to rural policy.

Scotland (UK) is a strong innovator, ranking among the top 20% of economies among European regions, with strengths in university-firm collaborations and skills for innovation. With close to two-thirds of all growth in productivity from 2010 to 2018 coming from better use of resources in remote rural areas, rural areas are critical to economic prosperity.