The role of infrastructures in rural depopulation. An econometric analysis

  1. Cañal-Fernández, Verónica 1
  2. Álvarez, Antonio 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Oviedo
    info

    Universidad de Oviedo

    Oviedo, España

    ROR https://ror.org/006gksa02

Journal:
Economía agraria y recursos naturales

ISSN: 1578-0732,  2174-7350

Year of publication: 2022

Volume: 22

Issue: 2

Pages: 31-52

Type: Article

DOI: 10.7201/EARN.2022.02.02 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openDialnet editor

More publications in: Economía agraria y recursos naturales

Abstract

The aim of this article is to contribute to the analysis of the causes of rural depopulation and, particularly, the role of infrastructures. We build a panel data set with the 78 municipalities of a region in Northern Spain, Asturias. We estimate an econometric model where rural population is explained by a set of economic and infrastructure variables as well as some characteristics of the municipalities. The main results show the importance of infrastructures to maintain rural population. The presence of a medium–size town in the municipality helps to fix the population in the countryside. However, the income gap with urban municipalities contributes to reduce rural population.

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Data source: Dialnet