The attraction of foreign-born immigrants to rural areas in developed countries has aroused growing interest in recent years. The central issue in this study is the demographic impact of immigration in rural Spain, focusing on depopulated areas. The economic and demographic consequences of depopulation have become major concerns, and the arrival of international migrants has come to be seen as a possible solution. The aim of this study is to add to a literature in which qualitative research and local or regional perspectives predominate. The present research draws on quantitative findings for a significant part of Spain. The evidence in this study is principally based on population figures for the last years of the 20th century, a period of low immigration to Spain, and the early years of the 21st century, when the inflow of foreign migrants gathered intensity. We also explore the early consequences of the present economic crisis, which began in 2008. The analysis is based on estimates of native and foreign-born population growth for a range of territorial aggregations. Counterfactual techniques are also used. The results show that the arrival of immigrants has so far contributed substantially to reducing and even halting or reversing depopulation. A further series of analyses concentrates on the potential of rural areas to retain immigrants in the long run. The study also recommends a comprehensive policy approach in this regard.

This study evaluates the policies developed in Spain to address depopulation and explains the reasons for their low effectiveness. We consider that the low impact of these policies is due to an incorrect diagnosis and design in terms of their content and governance. Therefore, we propose that depopulation policies should have the objective of enabling citizens to reside where they wish and obtain the best possible quality of life. These policies should be implemented within a new governance framework in which the foundations on which they are based and the way in which they are implemented are renewed. With the support of the European Union, such action could be carried out more efficiently and could constitute a reference of successful territorial cohesion contributing to erasing the populist opinion in places that believe that they do not matter.

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