The National Rural Development Programme in France: How Does It Contribute to the Attractiveness of Regions?

Abstract

– Since the 2000s, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has become one of the key components of rural development policy, which takes the form of a national programme in France; however, few studies have been dedicated to assessing its impact on the attractiveness of rural areas. This article presents the results of an evaluation of the specific impacts, during the period from 2007 to 2013, of the European rural development measures and measures relating to quality of life and diversification of the rural economy applied in France on the economic and residential attractiveness of the municipalities benefiting from the measures. The impacts of the projects are estimated using a difference‑in‑differences method with propensity score matching. The evaluation reveals little impact on residential attractiveness. However, it also allows for the identification of positive impacts on face‑to‑face jobs linked to local services, with around 80,000 jobs having been created during this period at a cost of EUR 18,000 per job, which is lower than has been seen with comparable policies.