Rural Districts and Business Agglomerations in Low-Density Business Environments. The Case of Extremadura (Spain)

Abstract

The strategy of the institutionalization and development of business agglomerations, in any of its analytical aspects (industrial district, local production system, cluster, etc.), has not had great results in Spanish regions with low business-density, probably due to the difficulty of finding an adequate implementation framework in administrative, geographic, and institutional terms. Based on the limitations presented by the identification methodologies of business agglomerations in low business-density territories, in this work we propose some methodological corrections that allow for reconciling these economic realities with the institutional and geographical framework offered by the local action groups (LAGs). This reconciliation is a useful tool to take advantage of the economies of agglomeration and, consequently, to explore the possibilities of endogenous development in rural areas, so that it can be a factor to take into account when planning and executing the public strategy of local and rural development. Finally, the results obtained for the specific case of Extremadura, the only Spanish region listed as a less developed one in European rural development policies, are presented.

Changes of Dynamics in Local Productive Systems Based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry in Western Sierra Morena (Spain)

“…From each of these crises, the sector emerges restructured, sometimes without having overcome the previous crisis [92]. These processes coincide with the idea of the life cycle of the LPS, developed by Belussi and Sedita [93] and is identified in the LPS-IPTI [90,91].…”

“…The changes that occurred in the agro-food industry in recent decades that affect the LPS-IPTI and the IPTI and shape them experience cycles of crisis and expansion [42,60,61,78,90,91]. From each of these crises, the sector emerges restructured, sometimes without having overcome the previous crisis [92].…”

Changes of Dynamics in Local Productive Systems Based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry in Western Sierra Morena (Spain)

“…From each of these crises, the sector emerges restructured, sometimes without having overcome the previous crisis [92]. These processes coincide with the idea of the life cycle of the LPS, developed by Belussi and Sedita [93] and identified in the LPS-IPTI [90,91].…”

“…IPTIs present specific conditions that characterise the formation and continuity of LPS-IPTI (see Table 1). The changes that occurred in the agro-food industry in recent decades affect the LPS-IPTI and the IPTI that shape them experience cycles of crisis and expansion [42,60,61,78,90,91]. From each of these crises, the sector emerges restructured, sometimes without having overcome the previous crisis [92].…”

Spatial Spillover Effects of Agricultural Transport Costs in Peru

“…For example, [13] found that neighbourhood effects had a central role in determining where croplands expand, which led to agricultural expansion and landscape formation in Mato Grosso, Brazil. For the case of Spain, [14] found the presence of business agglomerations around rural areas in the Extremadura region. The authors propose that agglomeration economies be considered as an important element to explore endogenous development in low-density business environments.…”