Rural well-being

An imagined country

A new perspective is needed on rural areas to secure a COVID-19 recovery

In the early stages of the pandemic, the focus was squarely on cities. Urban density and shared spaces contributed to surging case numbers and deaths: before June, the rise in excess deaths was more than three times higher in large metropolitan areas compared to remote regions. But rural areas still reeled from the economic impacts. Businesses closed to comply with containment measures, trade slowed, and tourism activity all but ceased. And as the year marched on, so too did the virus, extending its reach into smaller towns and rural communities more vulnerable due to their demography, limited health infrastructure and weaker institutions. The wounds of the pandemic will cut as deep – or and most likely even deeper – in the countryside as elsewhere.

Yet at the same time, the pandemic has prompted many to change their perspectives on rural areas. Months of social distancing forced city dwellers to forgo most, if not all of the benefits of city living but none of the costs. It required the urban workforce – and their employers – adapt to a new ways of life, including remote shopping and working. With those changes, many have started reconsider their priorities – and their opportunities – in life after the virus. In particular, they are looking with fresh eyes at the opportunities available in rural areas.

A new perspective is long overdue. Rural communities are home to roughly 2 billion people globally. These communities come in many forms. From bustling market towns, to centres of energy production and manufacturing, to remote villages far from the madding crowd. Yet the popular – and policy – narrative often imagines them as one – and it is rarely a flattering image. It is often one of traditional communities stuck in their ways. Declining. Ageing. Left behind. A sharp contrast with the popular image of urban areas as growing, young, and modern. It imagines rural areas as a problem to be fixed or mollified rather than a priority for growth – or the recovery.

As we look ahead to the recovery, it is time to change that view. First, because it obscures some uncomfortable truths about both rural and urban areas. For a start, because most rural areas are still growing: around two-thirds of rural regions are gaining population. Yes, a significant minority (36%) of OECD remote regions experienced population decline over the last two decades. But over the same period, 20% of metropolitan areas shrank too, even in countries with overall population growth like France, Germany, Italy, Korea and Spain.

Second, because the juxtaposition of urban and rural fortunes invites competition and obscures the real and important linkages and interdependencies between them. In many places, these links are direct and obvious like commuter towns in the economic orbit of a large city. Of the 29% of the OECD population in rural regions, three-quarters are in regions with close connections to cities.

Many of these areas, especially those with vibrant and specialised ecosystems, are increasingly becoming places of bursting economic activity on their own. And while others depend on nearby urban centres for jobs, urban centres depend on them, in turn, to meet the housing and public service needs of their workers. In more remote places, the links are less direct but no less important. They fuel cities in a more tangible way than agglomeration economies – providing food, energy and manufactured goods as well as providing their residents access to space and nature. Remote rural areas already generate around half of the total electricity produced from renewable sources in the OECD, a figure that is set to grow as countries invest to meet climate change targets.

Third, because the image blinds us to the abundance of opportunities available in rural areas. Opportunities from the transformation of existing rural industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing, where there is huge potential to adopt machine learning, robotics, sensors and drones into regular production practice. Opportunities to bind themselves more strongly into global value chains and take advantage of changes in the preferences of consumers that are increasingly favouring green, local and sustainable produce in their spending. Opportunities to modernise services like e-education and e-health.

In rural areas closer to cities, attracting more of the urban workforce will add to the skill base and create jobs, while releasing pressure on overburdened city infrastructure.  The digital transformation – and a change in norms as a result of the pandemic – will allow workers in the services sector to operate remotely through teleworking, and workers in the manufacturing sector to transition to “desktop manufacturing” through 3D printing. There is evidence that a shift in location preference is already underway. A recent study showed that 15% of people in the UK said they were considering moving as a result of life in lockdown, and over the first 14 weeks of the crisis in the US, housing demand was up 74% in the most sparsely populated quintile of zip codes, mostly at the expense of the densest quintile.

For these reasons, an antiquated and generalised rural-urban perspective makes for poor policy. It can lead to an approach that treats rural policy simply as a process of managing agricultural subsidies and population decline. It can lead to the separation of rural areas from urban areas – through administrative geographies that detach urban areas from their broader commuting footprint, and pit town against country in a competition to attract funding and jobs. It can result in missed opportunities to achieve higher growth that is both more sustainable and more inclusive.

Instead, to secure the recovery, we need an ambitious and proactive agenda for our rural communities. One that empowers them to respond to their very different circumstances, builds on their opportunities, and recognises and enhances their connections with other areas and global value chains. This will require investment in the new technologies, infrastructure and new business models that will boost productivity, create jobs and attract and, indeed, retain world-class talent.

It is time to reimagine our countryside. Rural communities come in many forms. We need to open our minds to these if we are to unlock their potential and deliver a recovery – and a future – that is more inclusive, more sustainable, more productive and more prosperous than the model we left behind.

Director at | Website | + posts

Lamia Kamal-Chaoui is the Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities since 2016.

As a key member of the OECD Executive Leadership team, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui supports the Secretary-General in achieving the OECD’s mission to advance economic growth and social progress as well as contributing to other global agendas such as the G20 and G7, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Supported by a team of over 160 staff, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui leads the Centre’s work to advance the OECD mission of “better policies for better lives” by ensuring that all people, all types of places and businesses of all sizes can prosper from green and digital transitions (read the Centre’s brochure and dedicated blog for more details). This includes work in the fields of: SME and entrepreneurship policyRegional, urban and rural  development;  Local employment and economic development (LEED programme);  Subnational statisticssocial economyMulti-level governance, local finance and decentralisationTourism and Culture.

Prior to being Director, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui has held several senior positions at the OECD since 1998. From 2012 to 2016, she served as Senior Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General. In this role, she supported the Secretary-General’s strategic agenda and led the OECD Inclusive Growth Initiative, the Knowledge-Sharing Alliance programme, the development of the Global Deal  and the implementation of the OECD Strategy on Development. From 2003 to 2012, she was Head of the Urban Programme in the OECD Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development.  Previously, she also worked in the OECD Trade Directorate and the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. Before joining the OECD, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui worked for a university-based research institute as well as several media outlets.

During her extensive career at the OECD, she has spearheaded several ground-breaking, multi-stakeholder OECD initiatives including the Roundtable for Mayors and Ministers, the Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Coalition, the Digital for SMEs (D4SMEs), and the StandbyYouth Initiative. She has also authored, co-authored, and overseen hundreds of policy reports and articles, and forged numerous strategic partnerships and collaborations with companies and international institutions. They include major philanthropic organisations (e.g. Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rockefeller Foundation, Kauffmann foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundations) as well as other prominent organisations (e.g. Vatican Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Club of Madrid), international civic organisations (e.g. Youth Forum, Ashoka Global) and multilateral institutions (e.g. World Bank, IADB, ADB, EBRD, European Commission, UN Habitat, APEC). She has also partnered with the private sector, including large corporations (e.g. Facebook, Amazon, Kakao, Microsoft, Vodafone) and business associations (e.g. International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), B4IG, SMEUnited).

Ms. Kamal-Chaoui has been a member of several International Committees and Advisory Boards (e.g. Lancet Green Recovery Task Force on COVID 19 recovery, C40 Women for Climate, UNWTO COVID-19 Crisis Group, World Economic Forum Deputy Board of Trustees, Vatican Expert Group on Inclusive Globalisation, Club of Madrid’s Shared Societies, Shanghai World Expo, Michael Bloomberg Mayors Challenge for Europe, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo’s Strategic Committee). She has also been a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris for the “Governing Large Metropolis” Master’s Programme.

Ms. Kamal-Chaoui is a French and Moroccan national. She holds a Master’s Degree in Macroeconomics from the University of Paris Dauphine and a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and History from the University of Paris Diderot. She recently received the "Women of the Decade in Enterprise and Leadership" award of the Women's Economic Forum.

Head of the Smart Specialisaton Unit - Slovenia Governement - and Chair of the OECD Chair of the Working Party on Rural Policy at Slovenian Government | Website | + posts

Dr. Peter Wostner is the head of the Smart Specialisaton Unit responsible for policy coordination of
innovation related activities within the Slovenian Government. Dr. Wostner is an expert on
(territorial) development, competitiveness policies and EU budget were he has been, for last 15
years, directly involved in the EU budget and regulatory negotiations as well as setting up of the
programming framework and implementation arrangements, including design of policy instruments
and in setting up of Slovenian clusters, the Strategic Research and Innovation Partnerships. He is a
lecturer, moderator and also author of number of articles, especially as regards EU budget and
development policy. Dr. Wostner is the chairman of the OECD’s Working Party on Rural Policy and
Vice-Chair of the Regional Development Policy Committee.