A Regional Approach to Rural Development? Regional and Rural Programmes in Poland 2007–2015

Abstract

We explore the role of structural factors (i.e. place-based characteristics) in shaping EU policy. Our analysis covered the real expenditure of funds for individual priority axes in the programmes of both policies in the 2007-2015 period (according to N+2 rule) and the change in socio-economic features at the local (powiat, NUTS4) level. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between the level of per capita expenditure on RDP (rural development programmes) and ROP (regional operational programmes) and selected indicators describing the level of economic, social and demographic development of local government units. We show that in 2007-2013 rural and regional policy instruments were complementary, but also strongly related to the characteristics of the region (such as size, population, farmland) and therefore require greater adaptation to development opportunities and limitations. We suggest that there should be a more a place-based approach in future rural policy design and implementation.