The role of social capital components on local economic growth: Local cohesion and openness in French rural areas

This paper investigates empirically the economic role of some sociological factors, such as the intensity and nature of local social relationships, on economic growth in rural areas at the micro level. We use the bonding/linking/bridging classification suggested in the social capital literature (Putnam, 2000; Woolcock, 1998). Bonding links consist of strong linkages between similar people, which ensure the stability of relationships, but tend to lead to inertia and closure. Bridging links are weak ties that often lead to valuable new opportunities. Linking social capital is an intermediate category that consists of links between people from different social categories. This form of social capital favors both stability and openness. We use French data to examine these three forms of social capital within a local population and employment growth model inspired by Boarnet (1994), and to evaluate their impacts on local economic growth. The results suggest that all three forms of social capital have a robust and positive role on change in rural population and employment.social capital, rural economic development, population and employment growth

Rural firms, farms and the local economy - a focus on small and medium-sized towns

Small and medium-sized towns have traditionally formed an integral part of the agricultural sector and wider rural economy, acting as a source of farm inputs, a first destination of farm outputs and as a source of consumer goods and services to farm households. In recent years, this relationship has been substantially eroded through processes socio-economic restructuring, including the transformation of agriculture and a decline in other primary industries. Further, a number of endogenous and exogenous drivers have resulted in the uneven development of rural economies throughout Europe, leading not only to disparities but also to decline of small and medium sized towns as thriving economic and service centres. As a result, these settlements have received increasing attention from policy makers aiming to both maintain the traditional socio-economic fabric of rural areas, and to stimulate rural development through territorial, as opposed to sectoral – and namely agricultural – approaches. This paper considers these two issues through an analysis of local economic linkages in and around small and medium-sized towns. Using primary data collected in a study of thirty towns across five European countries, the paper examines the degree to which local firms and farms are integrated into the local economies of such towns relative to other sectors, and identifies the organisational characteristics associated with strong and weak local integration. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of evolving European rural development policy.

Modelling the Spatial Structure of Pig Production in Denmark

In Denmark, the concentration of pig production is highest in the western part of the country. However, there may be even larger local differences in the number of pigs produced. In this study we analyze the determinants of the location of pig production in Denmark with particular focus on spatial externalities and the interaction between the location of pig production and upstream sector and slaughterhouses. It is the assumption that the location of slaughterhouses is influenced by the location of the primary producers, implying that this variable is endogenous, whereas the location of primary producers is independent of the location of slaughterhouses. This is due to the fact that transportation costs of pigs are paid by the cooperatives owning the slaughterhouses. This assumption is tested applying a spatial econometric model. The model is estimated for 1999 and 2004. Furthermore, the impact of negative environmental externalities of pig production on location is analyzed. The results show that spatial externalities have a positive effect on the location of pig production whereas environmental regulation has a negative effect on location.Agglomeration, Externalities, Spatial Econometrics, Polluted Production, Livestock Production/Industries,

Does the regulation of manure land application work against agglomeration economies? Theory and evidence from the French hog sector

The well-known increase in the geographical concentration of hog production suggests the presence of agglomeration economies related to spatial spillovers and inter-dependencies among industries. In this paper, we examine whether the restrictions on land application of manure may weaken productivity gains arising from the agglomeration process. We develop a model of production showing the ambiguous spatial effect of land availability and the restriction on the manure application rate. Indeed, while the regulation of manure application triggers dispersion when manure is applied to land as a crop nutrient, it also prompts farmer to adopt manure treatment that favors agglomeration of hog production. Estimations of a reduced form of the spatial model with a spatial HAC procedure applied to data for French hog production for 1988 and 2000 confirm the ambiguous effect of land limitations induced by the restrictions on manure application. It does not prevent spatial concentration of hog production, and even boosts the role played by spatial spillovers in the agglomeration process.hog production, land availability, manure application regulation, agglomeration economies, spatial econometrics

Services aux populations : l'importance de l'économie résidentielle

Le poids croissant des emplois dans les services aux populations fait de ces secteurs une composante essentielle des économies rurales contemporaines. Leur développement qui, au cours de la dernière décennie, s'est affirmé dans les communes périurbaines et l'espace à dominante rurale, contribue fortement à la dynamique économique des espaces ruraux et périurbains, les services administrés jouant là un rôle central. Cette diffusion rapide tend à rapprocher les commerces et services des populations qu'ils desservent, l'accessibilité à ceux-ci dépendant cependant de la nature des équipements et de leurs logiques d'implantation.

Economic Orientation and Local Employment Growth in the Living Basins of Market Towns and Small Cities,

An analysis of the way in which the main economic activities combine locally highlights the growing presence in rural employment of economic activities designed to satisfy the needs of local people, activities which constitute the basis of a residential economy. Agriculture and the sectors directly linked to it are now relatively insignificant and have been overtaken by the industrial sectors. Thus, while in 1980 only a third of the living basins centred around a market town or small city had more residential jobs than agricultural and industrial jobs, in 1999 more than half were in this position. During the period, basins with a residential economy experienced more favourable economic development than basins with a more industrial or agricultural character. Furthermore, all other things being equal, employment growth was more marked in basins close to large urban centres, the local demographic dynamic having a positive influence on the development of economic activity.Industry Location, Local Employment Dynamics, Rural Development

Mécanismes économiques à l’œuvre dans les espaces ruraux

Cet article cherche à appréhender les espaces ruraux au travers des mécanismes économiques qui rendent compte de la dispersion dans l’espace des populations et des activités, tels qu’ils sont pris en compte par l’économie spatiale. Deux catégories d’espaces non urbains peuvent alors être distinguées : des espaces ruraux périphériques des villes, où dominent les mécanismes responsables de la dispersion relative de la population urbaine ; des espaces ruraux placés hors influence urbaine et organisés autour de petits pôles d’emploi, où les forces de dispersion des activités sont responsables des dynamiques locales. Le Zonage en aires urbaines et en aires d’emploi de l’espace rural (ZAUER) proposé par l’INSEE rend compte de cette dichotomie de l’espace rural. Il s’avère cependant pertinent de le combiner au découpage en « bassins de vie », également proposé par l’INSEE, en vue de rendre compte des principales logiques de l’intervention publique en milieu rural.This paper suggests definitions of rural areas based on spatial economics theory. We focus on mechanisms that are able to explain the spatial dispersion of population and activities. Two categories of non urban areas are distinguished: on one hand, rural surrounding cities, where changes come from population spread mechanisms; on the other hand, rural areas without urban influence, structured by small employment centres. The French delineation, called “Zonage en aires urbaines et en aires d’emploi de l’espace rural” (ZAUER), takes into account this distinction and allows us to give a relevant description of their development features. It seems to be useful to combine it with another French delineation in “Bassins de vie” in order to understand the main logics of rural development policies

Apport de l'hydrogéochimie pour la caractérisation des mouvements gravitaires

National audienceLes travaux menés depuis plus d'une dizaine d'années sur différents massifs instables ont montré les potentialités des observations hydrogéochimiques (suivi à long-terme et expérimentations) pour une meilleure compréhension du comportement hydro-mécanique des instabilités de versant et potentiellement l'identification de précurseurs de la rupture ou d'accélération

An interferometric study of the Fomalhaut inner debris disk. I. Near-infrared detection of hot dust with VLTI/VINCI

The innermost parts of dusty debris disks around main sequence stars are currently poorly known due to the high contrast and small angular separation with their parent stars. Using near-infrared interferometry, we aim to detect the signature of hot dust around the nearby A4 V star Fomalhaut, which has already been suggested to harbor a warm dust population in addition to a cold dust ring located at about 140 AU. Archival data obtained with the VINCI instrument at the VLTI are used to study the fringe visibility of the Fomalhaut system at projected baseline lengths ranging from 4 m to 140 m in the K band. A significant visibility deficit is observed at short baselines with respect to the expected visibility of the sole stellar photosphere. This is interpreted as the signature of resolved circumstellar emission, producing a relative flux of 0.88% +/- 0.12% with respect to the stellar photosphere. While our interferometric data cannot directly constrain the morphology of the excess emission source, complementary data from the literature allow us to discard an off-axis point-like object as the source of circumstellar emission. We argue that the thermal emission from hot dusty grains located within 6 AU from Fomalhaut is the most plausible explanation for the detected excess. Our study also provides a revised limb-darkened diameter for Fomalhaut (2.223 +/- 0.022 mas), taking into account the effect of the resolved circumstellar emission.Comment: 13 pages, accepted for publication in Ap