Title: New Approaches to Rural Policy: Lessons from around the World-A Conference Summary
Abstract: New approaches to policy are badly needed, as past reliance on subsidies and policies focused on a single sector are yielding diminishing results. Fortunately, a new frontier of policy experiments is emerging, and this frontier holds great promise in helping regions seize new economic potential.This was the consensus of more than 120 leading officials and policy experts from around the world who gathered near Washington, D.C., on March 25-26, 2004, to explore new approaches to policy. The conference was jointly sponsored the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Rural Policy Research Institute, and The Countryside Agency (UK).Amid a flurry of new initiatives, participants agreed that new policies generally have two distinguishing features. First, they focus on exploiting each region's distinct economic assets instead of trying to develop a sector that will lift all boats, as in most developed nations historically, where the sector of choice for regions has been agriculture. second, public funds are aimed at constructing the public goods that will spur private sector investments. Indeed, investment is a strong theme of many new initiatives, with a deliberate attempt to scale back subsidies.I. THE NEED FOR NEW RURAL POLICIESWhy are new policies needed? That question was the starting point for the conference. Participants in the first session quickly agreed that globalization makes new policy approaches essential. Globalizing markets force consolidation in traditional industries, like agriculture and manufacturing, bringing economic decline to many communities. But there was a strong sense of optimism among participants that regions are not doomed to decline. In fact, most areas have underutilized their assets and overlooked potential intra- and interregional linkages that can make regions competitive in a globalizing economy.In his keynote address, Alan Greenspan outlined an optimistic vision for regions based on and trade, which have been the catalysts for past successes. Success hinges on recognizing and leveraging the new opportunities created local and global changes. Such experiences, Greenspan said, underscore the importance [of] flexibility in enhancing economic welfare and economic growth.Rural policy remains heavily oriented toward such as those targeting agriculture and industrial recruitment. Yet these policies are increasingly anachronistic to the changing economic base of areas-and are likely to hinder rather than enhance prospects for dynamism. Greenspan noted that such policies tend to freeze ... old inefficiencies, leading to distortion and misuse of resources.Constance Morella suggested that proper policy perspectives can in fact reduce longer-term dependence of regions on subsidies. Rural places can become more self-reliant by emphasizing or exploiting underutilized economic assets, releasing potential, promoting entrepreneurship, and mobilizing private investment. This perspective was strongly echoed Gianfranco Micciche, who offered as evidence his own experiences in initiatives in southern Italy. Enough with subsidies, Micciche said.Policies supporting infrastructure, technology, and networks can help regions find alternative economic bases to commodity production. In that spirit, Donald Johnston argued for more cross-sector coordination between agriculture and other industries in light of the reality that rural is not synonymous with agriculture anymore.Oryssia Lennie pointed out that in Canada, tele-health, distance learning, and e-commerce are all examples of how technology can bridge the distance between communities and make amenities and opportunities more available. Johnston added that in Canada such technological solutions are not only equitable but also a cost-efficient means of providing needed services in remote areas. …
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-06-22
Language: en
Type: article
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