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Rural depopulation and income convergence

by Carlos San Juan Mesonada and Carlos Sunyer. Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales. Vol. 19,2. (2019). pp. 29-48. ISSN: 1578-0732. e-ISSN: 2174-7350.

Thursday 9 January 2020, by Carlos San Juan


Panel data models are estimated to highlight the income-gap as a driver of individual decisions to migrate. This procedure allows to testing the hypothesis that the per capita income-gap of rural spaces along with the employment rate and aging explain the fall in the population of rural villages and the concentration of population in functional urban areas (FUA). First, using panel data models, the links between rural depopulation and the income-gap are estimated with data at the municipal level. Second, the effects of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) on the convergence of income levels for rural inhabitants are evaluated.

RESUMEN: Estimamos unos modelos de datos de panel para ilustrar cómo la brecha de ingresos impulsa las decisiones individuales de emigrar y los usamos para contrastar la hipótesis de que la brecha de renta per cápita, junto con las tasas de empleo y de envejecimiento, explican la despoblación rural y la concen-tración de la población en las áreas funcionales urbanas (AFU). Estimamos modelos a nivel municipal para cuantificar la relación entre brecha de renta y despoblación. Seguidamente, estudiamos los efectos de los Fondos Europeos Estructurales y de Inversión para favorecer la convergencia del mundo rural.

Cite as: San Juan Mesonada, C. & Sunyer Manteiga, C. (2019). “Rural depopulation and income converge”. Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales, 19(2), 29-48. doi: https://doi.org/10.7201/earn.2019.02.02.

KEYWORDS: Rural population, income-gap, regional convergence, European Structural and Investment Funds

PALABRAS CLAVE: Población rural, brecha de renta, convergencia regional, Fondos Eu-ropeos Estructurales y de Inversión.

JEL classification / Clasificación JEL: R11, R53, J11, J18, J61.

Attached documents

  • Panel data models are estimated to highlight the income-gap as a driver of individual decisions to migrate. This procedure allows to testing the hypothesis that the per capita income-gap of rural spaces along with the employment rate and aging explain the fall in the population of rural villages and the concentration of population in functional urban areas (FUA). First, using panel data models, the links between rural depopulation and the income-gap are estimated with data at the municipal level. Second, the effects of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) on the convergence of income levels for rural inhabitants are evaluated.

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