The role of infrastructures in rural depopulation. An econometric analysis

The aim of this article is to contribute to the analysis of the causes of rural depopulation and, particularly, the role of infrastructures. We build a panel data set with the 78 municipalities of a region in Northern Spain, Asturias. We estimate an econometric model where rural population is explained by a set of economic and infrastructure variables as well as some characteristics of the municipalities. The main results show the importance of infrastructures to maintain rural population. The presence of a medium–size town in the municipality helps to fix the population in the countryside. However, the income gap with urban municipalities contributes to reduce rural population.