El objetivo de este trabajo es el estudio del desempeño, estrategias y posibilidades de adaptación de las cooperativas del vino en Castilla La-Mancha, comparando un periodo de expansión económica (2002-2006) con un periodo de crisis (2007-2011). Para ello se define un modelo de panel en el que se analiza la relación entre el desempeño económico y diferentes estrategias de gestión (del entorno, comerciales y de financiación). También se analiza el efecto de la actuación pública, en este contexto, valorando el impacto que las Ayudas del Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural 2007-2013, en promoción de las inversiones de modernización, han tenido sobre los resultados de las cooperativas. Los resultados muestran que el sector cooperativo del vino de Castilla-La Mancha ha demostrado su robustez y capacidad de adaptación en la actual crisis económica y financiera y que estas entidades de carácter social, se han adaptado mejor y más consistentemente a la nueva situación que las sociedades capitalistas, tras comparar los resultados con los obtenidos en otros trabajos. Así, las cooperativas muestran su viabilidad social y economía como modelo empresarial idiosincrático.

The population movement and the decentralization of urban areas and their outskirts are shaping, in the last thirty years, a different process of spatial distribution and the definition of a new population establishment model. Traditionally, displacements were rural-urban and the major reason was the economic one. Nevertheless, recently this process is more complex and triangular: rural-rural displacements and intern urban migrations in which the population moves from small cores (outskirts) to the capital (urban centre). The economic angle is not able anymore to explain most of the displacements: the biggest rural cores are concentrating the migration flows of outskirt areas, shaping, instead of a traditional marshallian industrial district, a social district that we have named Rural District, which becomes a new concept for territorial development.

Since the LEADER (Liaisons Entre Activités de Developpement de l'Economie Rural) method was launched in 1991, through its Rural Development Programmes, it has tried to support rural areas by promoting the creation of opportunities, strengthening rural territorial resilience and holding back depopulation processes. It has also introduced social considerations such as gender and age and has fostered the knowledge economy. One aspect of particular interest is employment: rural areas that offer employment opportunities can trigger a set of processes and dynamics that are positive for rural resilience in that they strengthen competitive, socially dynamic and economically viable spaces. The purpose of this article is to define the profile of a LEADER project that can generate and/or consolidate employment in the Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha during the current 2014–2022 programming period. This is done by means of a study using ordered probit of the 4 465 projects by the Local Action Groups (LAGs). The study points to the preponderance of agro-industrial activity and the large size of the municipalities where employment is generated. It also finds that a very large proportion of the jobs created are for young people and that many women have found jobs in projects funded by the LAGs.