POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN RURAL AREAS FINAL STUDY REPORT European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit E2 Manuscript completed in August 2008 © European Communities, 2008 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. European Commission 1 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................................................................................4 Introduction................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Section I: Describing and understanding rural poverty............................................................................................................................4 Chapter I. Identification of rural areas: problems and methodology.........................................................................................................4 Chapter 2. Main and specific problems of rural areas...............................................................................................................................7 Chapter 3. Poverty and social exclusion in rural areas............................................................................................................................14 Section II: Policies for social inclusion in rural areas............................................................................................................................22 Chapter 4. Policies for social inclusion of the rural poor.........................................................................................................................23 Chapter 5. EU policies against poverty of rural areas..............................................................................................................................26 Chapter 6. Conclusions: policy suggestion..............................................................................................................................................29 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................................................32 Section I: Describing and understanding rural poverty..........................................................................................................................34 Chapter I. Identification of rural areas: problems and methodology.......................................................................................................35 1.1 Complexity of defining rural areas...................................................................................................................................35 1.2 The OECD definition of rurality......................................................................................................................................36 1.3 Alternative definitions of rurality proposed by the European Commission.....................................................................37 1.4 The OECD typology and the accessibility issue: the classification by DG Regional Policy...........................................38 1.5 The FGB definition of rurality.........................................................................................................................................41 1.6 Advantages and shortcomings of the OECD, DG Regional Policy and FGB definitions...............................................42 1.7 Comparison between the OECD definition and the FGB definition of rurality..............................................................43 1.8 Conclusions.....................................................................................................................................................................48 Chapter 2. Main and specific problems of rural areas............................................................................................................................49 2.1 Rural areas between economic development and risk of poverty...................................................................................49 2.2 The transformation of rural areas....................................................................................................................................53 2.3 Poverty of rural areas and poverty in rural areas.............................................................................................................55 2.4 Demography...................................................................................................................................................................56 2.5 Remoteness: infrastructure and access to basic services.................................................................................................59 2.6 Education..........................................................................................................................................................................65 2.7 Labour Market..................................................................................................................................................................66 2.8 The vicious circles of “poverty of rural areas”.................................................................................................................71 Chapter 3. Poverty and social exclusion in rural areas............................................................................................................................74 3.1 Income poverty in rural areas............................................................................................................................................74 3.2 From income poverty to social exclusion..........................................................................................................................75 3.2.1 Labour market indicators................................................................................................................................78 3.2.2 Housing quality...............................................................................................................................................92 3.2.3 Life expectancy at birth..................................................................................................................................93 3.2.4 Education........................................................................................................................................................94 3.2.5 Demographic structure...................................................................................................................................97 3.3 Groups at risk of poverty and social exclusion in rural areas...........................................................................................98 3.3.1 Women...........................................................................................................................................................99 3.3.2 Youth............................................................................................................................................................101 3.3.3 Low educated, low skilled people................................................................................................................103 3.3.4 Elderly..........................................................................................................................................................104 3.3.5 Ethnic minorities and immigrants.................................................................................................................106 3.3.6 Farmers.........................................................................................................................................................108 Section II Policies for social inclusion in rural areas...........................................................................................................................112 I. Policies against poverty of rural areas and policies against poverty of rural people.............................................................113 II. The political irrelevance of the rural poor.............................................................................................................................114 Chapter 4. Policies for social inclusion of the rural poor.......................................................................................................................116 4.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................116 4.2 The European Strategy against Social Exclusion............................................................................................................116 4.3 Social security, pensions and health care in rural areas..................................................................................................119 4.4 Active policies in rural labour market.............................................................................................................................121 4.5 Human capital, education and training in rural Europe...................................................................................................123 4.6 Designing and implementing social policies in rural areas: