European Commission
POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
IN RURAL AREAS
Final Report
Annex I
Country Studies
country:
SPAIN
author:
Elvira Gonzalez
Poverty and social exclusion in rural areas - Final report Annex I - Country Studies
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Contents
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
2. Main characteristics of rurality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
3. Main characteristics of rural poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
4. Rural poverty and policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
5. Poverty and groups at risk:
case studies on significant groups at risk . . . . . . . 500
6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
This study is supported for under the European Community action programme to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat social exclusion (2002-2006). This programme is managed by
the Directorate-General for Employment, social affairs and equal opportunities of the European
Commission.
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission may be held
responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in this publication.
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/spsi
Contractor: Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini
Contact person: Marilena Sacchetta
www.fondazionebrodolini.it
Authors of the Final Study: Paola Bertolini, Marco Montanari, Vito Peragine.
National Corrispondents: Lilia Abadjieva (Bulgaria), Luc Behaghel (France), Paola Bertolini (Italy),
Nikolaos Bouzas (Greece), Ruta Braziene (Lithuania), Patrick Commins (Ireland), Philomena De Lima
(UK), Oana Gherghinescu (Romania), Elvira Gonzalez (Spain), Florindo Ramos (Portugal), Karen
Refsgaard (Norway), Mateja Sedmak, Blaz Lenarcic (Slovenia), Elzbieta Tarkowska (Poland), Achim
Vanselow, Claudia Weinkopf, Thorsten Kalina (Germany), Gabriella Vukovich (Hungary).
Scientific Committee: Philomena De Lima, Marcello Gorgoni, Sabrina Lucatelli, Enzo Mingione,
Karen Refsgaard, Annamaria Simonazzi, Francesca Utili
© European Communities, 2008
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
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Executive summary
There is not a single and widely-used official definition of rurality in Spain. The Central Government applies the
OECD methodology as well as other alternative criteria to measure rurality. Also, each region may (and actually
does) choose different definitions in its official documents.
3 types of ruralities exist in Spain: coastal and periurban rural areas, defined by economic dynamism and demographic growth; competitive inland rural areas, with active and innovative agrifood businesses; and non-competitive inland rural areas, with higher rates of marginality and lower productivity and economic development.
The problem of rural poverty is not explicitly addressed by Spanish public authorities: while the National Strategic
Plan for Rural Development focuses on economic issues (increase productivity and tourism), the National Plan for
Social Inclusion does not include any specific rural measures while dealing with poverty and exclusion.
Most of the policies regarding rural areas (specially their implementation) are a responsibility of regional authorities, thus strategies are fragmented and they lack of coordination from other regions.
The main goal of the National Strategic Plan for Rural Development is to stop depopulation in rural areas thru
increasing the attractiveness of these areas (providing renovation of infrastructures, resources for tourism, etc.).
The National Program for Social Inclusion may improve rural poverty by achieving its general aims: foment access
to employment; guarantee minimum economic resources; achieve equity in education; support social integration
of immigrants; and guarantee assistance to dependants.
The recently-passed Law on Personal Autonomy and Assistance to Dependants is expected to have a considerable
impact in rural areas, although there is doubts about the feasibility its implementation.
Regarding labour market, rural areas face very similar unemployment rates than urban areas, although with a lower
activity rate. Besides, agriculture is not the rural inhabitants’ predominant activity, since most people work providing services.
Women and the elderly are the groups facing a higher risk of poverty in rural areas. The former due to the lack of
empowerment and the latter as a consequence of their higher need of social services and their limited access to
resources.
The sharp aging process of the rural population is one of its most predominant features. Population has rapidly aged
due to the combined effect of the rural exodus, the fall of birth and fecundity rates, the increase of life expectancy
and the added presence of old returned migrants.
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1. Overview
Spain is mainly a rural country, with more than 47% of its territory considered predominantly rural, according to
the OECD methodology. Despite the importance of rural areas, only 15% of the population live in those areas and
they contribute to just 12% of total Spanish GVA. According to the latest Survey on Living conditions (by the
National Statistics Institute), 19.8% of the overall Spanish population lives under the threshold of relative poverty
(60% of the median income), but this figure becomes even more worrying in the case of the elderly, for whom the
poverty rate reaches 29% (31% for old women). The tendency during the last years has not been satisfactory, as
the figures seems to have noticeably increased.
The most worrying trends in terms of rural poverty can be found in the so-called non-competitive inland territories, whereas the coastal and periurban regions have achieved advantageous economic and social conditions. A
large share of those areas is located in the northern tableland of the peninsula and in mountainous regions. The
excessive population aging, the exodus of youth (especially women), and the decline of the agrarian sector are the
main socioeconomic handicaps, which in turn are reflected in the lack of essential social services, transport infrastructures and communications.
Regarding specific policies aiming to enhance living condition in rural areas, the National Plan for Social Inclusion
does not dedicate a particular section to this issue, although some partial reference are made regarding child poverty and the promotion of information technologies in rural areas. Notwithstanding, some other general measures are
expected to have a considerable impact in rural areas, like the new Law on Personal Autonomy and Assistance to
Dependants that will implement the so-called fourth pillar of the welfare state. The National Strategic Plan for
Rural Development has paid a particular attention to the struggle against rural depopulation by promoting alternative productive structures in rural areas and enhancing tourist attractiveness, whereas women are the only group at
risk dealt in a specific section of the strategy. With regard to structural policies, the National Strategic Reference
has set as one of its priorities the provision social infrastructures and employment opportunities in rural areas in
order to avoid the increasing depopulation process and it seems to put certain emphasis in gender issues and the
consequences of an excessively old rural population. One of the most fruitful policies launched by the Spanish
Administration to tackle rural poverty is the enhancement of information and communication technologies by
means of several programs that facilitate the access to the internet in isolated rural areas as well as in urban areas
where social exclusion risks are very high.
When we focused on rural areas, women and the elderly are the ones facing a higher risk of poverty. The former
due to the lack of empowerment, since women in rural areas hardly ever have a paid job, even though they perform economic activities, and only a small fraction of women runs their own business. In the case of the elderly,
poverty risk is a consequence of their higher need of social services and their limited access to resources
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2. Main characters of rurality in Spain
2.1 Definition of rural areas
According to the “National Rural Development Strategic Plan 2007-2013”, published by the Spanish Ministry of
Agriculture, Fishing and Food, the definition of a rural area in Spain is based on the OECD methodology (also
adopted by the European Commission). That is, a community is defined as rural if its population density is below
150 inhabitants per square kilometre. Then, at a regional level (NUTS 3 or NUTS 2), regions are classified according to the percentage of population living in rural communities. This definition gives 3 types of regions:
• Predominantly rural: more than 50% of its population lives in rural communities.
• Intermediate: the share of population living in rural communities is between 15% and 50%.
• Predominantly urban: less than 15% of the population lives in rural communities.
According to this methodology, 47.4% of Spain is predominantly rural, 46.5% is intermediate rural and 6.1% is
predominantly urban. Additionally, the 17 Spanish regions at NUTS 2 level contain the percentages of rural areas
shown in the next table (calculated at NUTS 3):
Table 1. Proportion of rural areas in Spain. OECD criterion
% land in rural areas
Autonomous Communities
Predominantly rural
Intermediate rural
Predominantly urban
Andalucía
31,1
68,9
0,0
Aragón
63,8
36,2
0,0
Canarias
0,0
100,0
0,0
Cantabria
0,0
100,0
0,0
Castilla- La Mancha
84,6
15,4
0,0
Castilla y León
46,6
53,4
0,0
Cataluña
37,9
38,0
24,1
Comunidad de Madrid
0,0
0,0
100,0
Comunidad Foral de Navarra
0,0
100,0
0,0
Comunidad Valenciana
0,0
53,5
46,5
Extremadura
100,0
0,0
0,0
Galicia
57,9
42,1
0,0
Illes Balears
0,0
100,0
0,0
La Rioja
0,0
100,0
0,0
País Vasco
0,0
42,0
58,0
Principado de Asturias
0,0
100,0
0,0
Región de Murcia
0,0
100,0
0,0
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food
Nonetheless, the Ministry does not completely agree with this definition of rurality because it does not fully reflect
the complexity of rurality in a country like Spain, especially in those regions with a high population density.
Therefore, it provides an alternative criteria for classifying territories by applying the OECD methodology at
municipality level (but not regional), yielding the following results:
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Table 2. Proportion of rural areas in Spain. Alternative criterion
Autonomous Communities
Andalucía
% territory in rural areas
Rural
Urban
88,09
11,91
Aragón
97,18
2,82
Canarias
66,44
33,56
Cantabria
88,14
11,86
Castilla- La Mancha
98,07
1,93
Castilla y León
97,67
2,33
Cataluña
85,49
14,51
Comunidad de Madrid
57,05
42,95
Comunidad Foral de Navarra
95,62
4,38
Comunidad Valenciana
73,88
26,12
98,5
1,5
88,13
11,87
Illes Balears
77,98
22,02
La Rioja
91,14
8,86
País Vasco
70,57
29,43
Principado de Asturias
89,88
10,12
Región de Murcia
82,94
17,06
Extremadura
Galicia
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food
Despite the methodology used at the national level, each region may choose a different definition in its respective
Regional Strategic Plan. Thus, even though most regions use the OECD definition, some regions (for instance,
Castilla La-Mancha) apply a definition given by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). This Institute defines a rural
community as having less than 2.000 inhabitants, semi-rural if its population lies between 2.000 and 10.000 and
urban if it has more than 10.000 inhabitants.
2.2. The different typologies of rurality in Spain
According to the annual report “Informe España 2007” published by Fundación Encuentro, the progressive modernization of agriculture during the last 50 years has triggered an uneven response among different rural territories
in Spain. Hence, the conception of a unique model of rurality does not apply in the Spanish case, insofar as some
territories have been transformed and maintain a high degree of economic vitality, whereas some others find themselves in a profound stagnation. It is thus convenient to distinguish between three types of rural areas:
• Coastal and periurban rural areas
• Competitive inland rural areas
• Non-competitive inland rural areas
Rural municipalities in coastal and periurban rural areas are characterized by a noticeable economic
dynamism and demographic growth, and a great adaptability to new social demands stemming from the market. In
the Mediterranean coastal areas, the particular agrarian activity has been the main engine of development, thanks
to the growth of horticulture and fruit growing, both in the open air and under plastic, which, together with the
expansion of tourism and services, has generated sufficient jobs to employ the local population. The case of the
Cantabric coast is different, in that the specialization of agriculture and the complementarities of tourism do not
apply to such extent in the region. On the contrary, the northern coast has traditionally experienced manifest industrial orientation (metallurgy, chemicals, and agrifood industry), allowing local population to approach agriculture
as a secondary source of employment.
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On the other hand, periurban rural areas that stand in the surroundings of large cities find their source of dynamism
and growth in the demographic and economic pressure from urban areas. It is important to distinguish between
areas exclusively specialized in providing housing services and those in which real-estate development has been
campaigned by a noticeable commercial and industrial activity. Regardless the function they perform with respect
to large urban areas, these two types of periurban ruralities enjoy considerable endowments of infrastructures and
noticeable rates of economic and demographic growth. In fact, although most of traditional rural values, such as
natural landscape conservation, typical architecture and close neighbor relations, are scarcely present.
In rural territories classified in the aforementioned document as competitive inland rural areas, the traditional
agrarian structure (countryside “technification”, irrigation systems and crop selection) have lead to an optimal
exploitation of resources from an economic perspective. The economy of these areas has been decisively favoured
by the creation of active and innovative agrifood businesses that have been able to keep high levels of competitiveness and employment within an increasingly globalized economy. In this regard, it is worth to mention the crucial role played by cooperative societies in the evolution of the structure of the land, as they have acquired increasing importance in the tenure of the land but reducing the average surface of farms (Extremadura, Andalusia,
Murcia, Aragon, La rioja, Navarra and the Islands).
Finally, the non-competitive inland rural areas located in both Castilian plateaus and in mountainous zones,
show substantial problems in maintaining their agriculture, mostly due to their adverse climate and soil conditions
and the smallholding structure of the land. As a consequence, they show the highest rates of marginality and the
lowest levels of productivity and economic progress. These circumstances are reflected in the low increase of the
economic value of farms, despite the high growth rate of their average surface.
2.3 Main social and economic problems in rural areas
These non-competitive inland territories suffer most of the typical problems associated with rurality and they
should concentrate a large share of the policies aiming to enhance productivity and living conditions. Large extensions of rural areas in these regions are noticeably affected by social marginality, low productivity, and a minimized
physical and economic dimension of agrarian activities. They key factor that determines most of the problems in
these territories is that population settlements are more dispersed and gathered in numerous small-sized municipalities, which has retained the development of economies of scale and the subsequent productive activities and social
services. Demographic trends such as footlessness and population aging are highly present in these regions where
the specific agrarian model, based on unirrigated cereals crops and low competitive continental stockbreeding, has
hindered the development of a vital and active society. The final result is the predominance of very small-sized and
dispersed villages that over the years have suffered a drastic exodus of the youth, with a predominance of the male
and progressively aging population, and absent of any agents capable to invigorate the regions from an economic
and social point of view.
Furthermore, the non-competitive inland Spain is bearing most of the negative consequences of the agrarian sector crises. Indeed, the Spanish agriculture has progressively lost weight in the economy amounting only to 2.9%
of the GDP in 2005, in comparison to 9.5% in 1975, which in terms of employment has implied a reduction from
21.6% of all employees in 1975 to 5.2% in 2005. Keeping in mind that rural population in these areas continues to
be showing a high level of dependence on agriculture, this declining process will irremediably trigger the definitive depopulation of many rural municipalities unless the current trend experience a sharp reversal.
Finally, the incidence of adverse economic circumstances and the subsequent demographic problems may lead to
social exclusion and situations in which the provision of main social services might not be properly guaranteed for
an important share of the population in rural areas. The youth and the elderly are the age groups most likely to fall
into social exclusion, since the former must confront serious problems to access the labour market, whereas the latter frequently find themselves in helpless situations due to their lack of resources and physical dependence. The
youth usually try to avoid precariousnesss by combining remunerated employments with the participation of family agribusiness and agrarian subsidies, especially men, whereas young women are more likely to seek a better education and emigrate. In fact, this is one of the most remarkable handicaps regarding social issues: the barriers to
access education and cultural resources that hamper the continuity of studies for the rural youth and encourage their
exodus to larger towns.
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3. Main characters of rural poverty in Spain
3.1 Measurement of poverty in Spain
As commonly observed in developed countries, the most suitable and used method to capture the incidence of
poverty in Spain is the relative measurement through comparative income indicators. The definition of poverty
applied in official Spanish statistics agrees with that which was provided by the European Union and reported by
Eurostat. At EU level (the Laeken indicators), the median is the basic measure used as a reference for the setting
of the standard risk-of-poverty threshold (60% of the median income). Hence, the risk-of-poverty rate shows the
share of population obtaining less than 60% of the median income (i.e. the income that divides population in two
halves when sorted from lower to higher incomes). In practice, Eurostat calculates and publishes rates according
to various risk-of-poverty thresholds using various percentages (40, 50, 60, 70%) of the median and the mean.
In Spain, the specific data collection within the National Institute of Statistics (INE) that gathers poverty measurements has varied over time: from 1998 to 2001, the European Household Panel; in 2001-2004, the Continuous
Survey on Family Budgets; from 2004 on, the Survey on Living Conditions. It should be noted that, as in Eurostat´s
methodology, alternative levels of the relative poverty threshold, other than the commonly used 60% of the median income, are also reported (40%, 50% and 70%). The INE yearly publishes data on living conditions, which
includes information on household income, expenditure and poverty. The information concerning poverty is reported in accordance to different criteria, such as sex, age, household size, housing situation (own, rent, etc.), employment situation, etc. However, a remarkable shortcoming, at least for the specific purpose of this report, is the
absence of any mention of rural areas. Indeed, the desegregation of data excludes not only any distinction between
rural and urban areas but also any potential proxy, like for instance the economic activity of household members,
which in case of agriculture would have given an approximate view of poverty in the rural areas. This circumstance, however, iswas possible to capture in the Continuous Survey on Family Budgets (available only until the
second quarter of 2005) that allowed to construct poverty indicators with respect to the average expenditure capacity (but not with respect to the median income), distinguishing by the size of municipalities.
Apart from specific indicators that attempt to capture the overall incidence of relative poverty, a set of other partial measures are available in the INE within the aforementioned Survey on Living Conditions, like for instance
the indicators of intergenerational transmission of poverty, that classifies population under the poverty threshold
according to some socioeconomic characteristics of their parents. The INE has recently performed a specialized
survey about homeless people in Spain (2005) that covers a wide range of different characteristics affecting this
group (income, family, legal and judicial aspects, occupation, type of accommodation, level of education, etc.) but
unfortunately no reference is made to geographical aspects that allow to distinguish between urban and rural areas.
Figure 1. Risk-of-poverty rate by age and gender in Spain. 2006
35
32,6
28
30
25
23,624,1
21,2
17,7
20
20,7
16,3
14,7
17,4
15,4
17,5
17,4
15,3
18,6
16,9
15
10
5
0
16 and
from 16 to
from 25 to
from 59 to
65 and
16 y más
younger
24
49
64
older
años
Men
Source: INE
486
Women
De 16 a 64 Menos de
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Figure 2. Distribution of household expenditure in rural and urban areas. 2006
>100.000 inhabitants
Other goods an
services
8%
Hotels, cafes an
restaurants
10%
>10.000 inhabitants
Other goods and
services
8%
Food and non
alcoholic drinks Alcoholic drinks,
13%
tobacco and
narcotics
2%
Education
1%
Hotels, cafes and
restaurants
9%
Education
1%
Clothes and shoe
7%
Leisure and culture
7%
Leisure and culture
6%
Food and non
alcoholic drinks
15%
Alcoholic drinks,
tobacco and
narcotics
2%
Clothes and shoes
7%
Communications
3%
Communications
3%
Transport
13%
Transport
16%
Housing, water,
electricity and ga
27%
Helath
3%
Helath
3%
Furniture, home
equipment and
other expenses fo
home maintenance
6%
Housing, water,
electricity and gas
24%
Furniture, home
equipment and
other expenses for
home maintenance
6%
Source: INE
3.2 Rural Poverty in Spain
At first glance, the Spanish National Plan for Social Inclusion (2006-2008) and the Strategic Plan for Rural
Development leads to the conclusion that the problem of rural poverty is not explicitly addressed by public authorities as such. The National Plan for Social Inclusion contains as a general line of action concerning social services the following statement:
“To develop self-managed or negotiated projects with local corporations for the performance of programs for the integral social intervention aiming to eradicate poverty, as well as integral programs directed to groups in a situation of
risk of social exclusion, and other developments in vulnerable rural and urban areas, in cooperation with NGO’s”
Other partial mentions in certain objectives of the Plan for Social Inclusion, such as the need to enhance children
protection or the promotion of new technologies, indicate a specific interest of fighting poverty in rural areas. The
Strategic Plan for Rural Development, however, seems to concentrate most of the analysis and efforts in productive and economic issues related to the agrarian world, approaching the social issues from a general perspective
and focusing on broad demographic figures. No mention is made of poverty or social exclusion issues, nor of specific groups at risk. The Autonomous Communities seem to have followed a very similar approach, by distinguishing social inclusion programs from rural development plans, in which explicit mentions to rural poverty are very
infrequent. Nevertheless, the absence of a literal reference of rural poverty in official documents should not be
interpreted as a total lack of interest by public authorities, nor as the absolute inexistence of the problem.
As noticed in the report “Informe España 2007” by the Encuentro Foundation, the new conceptual framework in
the analysis of social vulnerability and poverty, which is now performed in terms of social exclusion, has added
two fundamental ideas. The first one is linked to the fact that living conditions must be analyzed in connection to
the standards of the immediate social environment, which is reflected in the adoption of a relative definition of
poverty. The second idea is related to the fact that the different agendas to achieve social inclusion and to enhance
opportunities can not be reduced uniquely to certain economic parameters (although they count to a large extent as
an important factor), but also to wide range of social and demographic aspects. This complexity in approaching the
poverty together with the multidimensional character of rural policies has resulted in the absence of a unique document or strategy to tackle the specific problem or rural poverty.
Regarding specific groups at risk of social exclusion and poverty, the only explicit reference to rural areas made in
the National Plan of Social Inclusion is the need to improve the quality of life of children by means of common
strategies by local organisms and the intervention of associative movements. In general terms, the Plan seems to
put a special emphasis on the immigration trends and the subsequent risks of social exclusion of foreign popula487
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tion, and the need to improve the quality of life of dependants (mainly the elderly and people with disabilities),
which is one of the mains advancements in social policies thanks to the promulgation of a the new Law on Personal
Autonomy and Assistance to Dependants, whose impact is expected to be specially highly notorious in rural areas.
Also the analysis of gender plays a crucial role in the overall document, although there is no particular reference
to women in rural areas. Some Autonomous Communities, like for instance Galicia, have addressed the situation
of women in rural areas in their respective Rural Development Plans.
On the literature, women and the elderly are pointed as the groups facing a higher risk of poverty. The former due
to the lack of empowerment, since women in rural areas hardly ever have a paid job, even though they perform
economic activities, and only a small fraction of women runs their own business. As noticed above, women are
also more likely to quit the rural environment since they are keener to seek a better education. In the case of the
elderly, poverty risk is a consequence of their higher need of social services and their limited access to resources.
Some other studies have evaluated the situation of people with disabilities in rural areas (Chorralde and Fernández,
2006), whereas the youth has also attracted the attention due to their difficulties to enter the labour market.
3.3 Multi-dimensional analysis of poverty and social exclusion in Spain
3.3.1 Key facts and figures on poverty and social exclusion in rural areas1
a. Geographical location
As stated in previous sections, the regions with a higher risk of poverty in Spain are those located in inland and
mountainous territories that show a low productive structure and a low population density. Although it is not possible to identify a unique area with these characteristics, the regions where rural poverty is more likely to appear
are in, Castilla La-Mancha, some regions of Extremadura, and Castilla y León, apart from other and isolated mountainous areas all over the geography. The main problems associated with these regions are related to the reduction
of economic activity, since agriculture has reduced its importance as a source of income and no other activity has
fully replaced it, in part because it is difficult for low population density areas to switch to a service based economy (industry is not even an option). Besides, the public sector in these regions faces serious difficulties providing
social services, therefore, increasing the risk of poverty for their inhabitants.
b. Physical infrastructure, accessibility (roads, railways, etc..)
In the framework of public services in rural areas, one of the most problematic aspects refers to transport and
mobility. The situation of infrastructures and public transportation in the rural environment, with very few exceptions, is highly deficient and unsatisfactory, which has un unquestionable negative effect in the quality of life of
those who depend to a large extent of a flexible mobility for their labor condition and personal autonomy.
According to the report “Informe España 2007” some railway lines have been cut off in rural areas due to their lack
of economic viability and serious problems of maintenance have been detected in the road networks. The low population density and the high dispersion in non-competitive inland areas has led to a deficient transport service
mainly based on bus connections and a very deficient railway network, with few possibilities of interconnection
and low levels of traffic. Public administration have declared their concern on this issue, allowing several important initiatives , like for instance the so-called “transport on demand” carried out by the Regional Government of
Castilla y León. According to this measure, the transport services are designed as a response to the demands of
users, trying to cover population settlements that count with at least four or five inhabitants.
There is also an important digital gap in those rural areas affected by depopulation that may reduce their economic development and increase inequality. This digital gap is mainly caused by the lack of infrastructures of communications (not sufficiently developed due to adverse orographic conditions) and the impossibility to access technological systems with advanced services. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food, only
30% of rural households own a PC and a scarce 16% have access to the internet.
In this regard, the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce launched in 2005 a Program for the Extension of
Broad Band in Rural areas, which has had its counterpart at regional level in most of the Autonomous Communities.
c. Access to health care and long term care
Basic services in areas with low demographic density are harder to provide and their inhabitants often have to trav488
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el some kilometres to reach medical assistance. The situation in non-competitive inland territories is, most of the
time, defined by very small villages (sometimes not even a hundred people) located close to each other, but none
of them count on these services (normally located in the largest town of the area). Despite the evident disadvantage in health care endowments in rural areas, the “Health Barometer” carried out in 2005 by the Centre for
Sociological Research shows that perceptions about the quality of the health are considerably more optimistic in
rural areas. Whereas only 49% of respondents believe that the health system is generally good (although it required
some minor changes), 61% of citizens living in villages smaller than 2.000 inhabitants thinks so. The same study
reveals that the percentage of rural population who perceives that the medical system has improved “much” or
“considerably” amounts to 66.1%, whereas 50.55 of all respondents think so. These perceptions are in connection
to the efforts aiming to bring near health services to rural environments, especially in the improvement of equipments and human resources.
The study “La Salud de nuestros Pueblos” (“The Health of our Villages”) carried out by the Spanish Society of
General Medicine (SEMG) gathers a comprehensive overview of material and human resources of the health system by municipalities.
Figure 3. Medical equipments and percentage of municipalities where they are available. 2005
Radiography
2,1%
Ecography
4,3%
Spirometry
34,8%
Cardiovascular reanimation equipment
43,0%
Oxygen therapy
83,7%
Analysis extractions
83,7%
Sterilization
87,8%
Electrocardiogram
89,8%
Disposable material
98,0%
Registering system
0,0%
100,0%
20,0%
40,0%
60,0%
80,0%
100,0%
120,0%
Source: Spanish Society of General Medicine (2005)
Nonetheless, many of the advancements in resources and equipment have been aimed to head municipalities in
every “shire”, although improvements in small villages are also perceivable thanks to the increasing use of mobile
medical units, as the results of the mentioned survey show. The study by the SEMG highlights as the main source
of concern in rural areas the need to improve emergency services, as the average waiting time to receive assistance
in such cases is high above the overall mean.
Finally, the recently launched scheme for Personal Autonomy and Assistance to Dependants will attempt to cover the
needs of persons with mobility restrictions by means of subsidies and the construction of specialized centres, which
in rural areas should have a more than noticeable impact. The scheme will be progressively implemented until 2015.
d. Environmental problems
The main environmental problems in rural areas gathered in the National Strategic for Rural Development can be
summarized as follows:
• In Spain, in comparison to other EU countries, there exists a greater share of permanent unirrigated cultivations, situated in regions with difficult topographical features, which contributes to combat erosion and to
keep landscapes and biodiversity. The erosion of the land is one of the main environmental problems of rural
areas in Spain. Traditionally, and mainly due to climate factors, farmers have been forced to transform their
agrarian productions into more extensive cultivations with less possibility of crop change.
• The low content in organic materials of much of the Spanish soil, the high incidence of forest fires and the
high rates of desertification are other problems highly associated to the process of erosion. Moreover, there
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is a sharp tendency to quit traditional practices in agriculture and the extensive systems of stockbreeding.
• Regarding hydrological resources, the main problems in their management refer to the seasonal scarcity of
rainfalls and the overexploitation of underground resources.
• The low profitability of forest systems in Spain has caused the abandoning of cultural practices and exploitations of resources, negatively affecting their environmental and social functions and making them prone to
spread diseases and fires.
• The most serious environmental problem, by far, that Spanish rural areas must confront is the incidence of
forest fires, which could be minimized by means of a sustainable management of the resources, a better use
of forestry biomass and the recovery of traditional stockbreeding practices.
e. Types of activities and labour market structure
Regarding the countryside situation, there is a process of diminishing social and economic activity in Spanish rural
areas. Despite this situation unemployment rates in urban areas are very similar to those in rural communities,
although the activity rate is lower in the latter. According to the Ministry for Agriculture, Fishing and Food Regarding
(2003), rural areas have a lower income per capita than urban areas (around an 18% disparity), although household
income level in rural areas meets the national average (except in Andalucía, Galicia and Extremadura). The structure
of employment by sectors shows that agriculture is not the predominant activity in Spanish rural areas anymore, since
services have considerably augmented its weight in the economy during the last years
Table 3. Distribution in percentage of the employed by economic sectors and size of municipality.
2001
Agriculture
Industry
Construction
Services
From 0 to 100 inhabitants
35.7
13.9
10.7
39.7
From 101 to 500 inhabitants
27.5
15.9
13.4
43.3
From 501 to 1.000 inhabitants
21.9
18.1
14.9
45.1
From 1.001 to 2000 inhabitants
18.3
19.7
15.4
46.6
From 2.001 to 5.000 inhabitants
15.6
21.4
15.3
47.7
From 5.001 to 10.000 inhabitants
11.3
22.3
15.1
51.3
More than 10.000 inhabitants
3.8
17.7
10.9
67.6
Total
6.3
18.4
11.7
63.6
Size of municipality
Source: Fundación Encuentro, Informe España 2007
The regional disparities regarding the structure of the labour market in rural areas is summarized in the Map 1,
where five different types of regions have been identified. The first type, which coincides with many of the noncompetitive inland rural areas, is characterized by a prominence of services with a high relevance of agriculture.
The second type corresponds to regions characterized by a prominence of services in employment with certain relevance of agriculture. The third type refers rural areas with a sharp specialization in services, whereas the fourth
one includes regions with a dominant industrial sector. Finally, the fifth type is characterized by the predominance
of services with an important role of industry.
f. Age structure
At NUTS 3 level, around 14% of total population living in rural areas is between 0 and 14 years old, 64% is
between 15 and 64 years old and almost 21% is over 65. There has been an increase in elderly rates in rural areas,
due to the lack of economic opportunities for young people that tend to migrate. The elderly index and the dependence index show a clear linear relation woth respect to the size of municipalities.
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Map 1. Types of rural territories attending to the structure of employment in municipalities with less
than 10.000 inhabitants. Year 2001
Source: Fundación Encuentro
Table 4. Demographic indicators in Spanish rural areas
Share of population
Under
15
years
(1)
From
15 to 64
years
(2)
Older
than 65
years
(3)
Elderly
index
(2)/(1)
Dependence
index
((1)+((3))/(1)
Index of
male
population
Index of male
population
(from 14 to
44 years)
From 0 to 100
inhabitants
4.3
54.3
41.4
970.2
84.2
120.8
154.3
From 101 to 500
inhabitants
8.0
58.7
33.3
416.6
70.3
110.5
127.1
From 501 to 1.000
inhabitants
10.5
61.8
27.6
262.0
61.7
106.5
118.6
From 1.001 to 2000
inhabitants
11.8
63.7
24.5
208.3
56.9
104.2
114.6
From 2.001 to 5.000
inhabitants
13.7
66.0
20.4
148.9
51.6
102.2
110.5
From 5.001 to 10.000
inhabitants
14.9
68.2
16.8
112.3
46.5
101.4
108.2
More than 10.000
inhabitants
14.5
70.2
15.3
105.5
42.4
96.0
103.9
Total
14.2
69.2
16.6
117.0
44.6
97.5
105.5
Size of municipality
Source: Fundación Encuentro, “Informe España 2007” from INE data
g. Access to education
Each Autonomous Community tries to make the education accessible to everyone, considering, of course, that primary and secondary education is mandatory in Spain until the age of 16. Some students living in isolated rural
areas may have more difficulties to access education because they have to commute everyday and reaching higher education implies a higher cost for them. The only available indicator to measure the real education supply in
rural areas is provided by the INE by means of the Census of Municipalities carried out every ten years. According
to this data, 44.1% of Spanish municipalities with less than 10.000 inhabitants did not count with any active education resources at all in 2001. This proportion is even higher in Autonomous Communities where the rurality has
a noticeable presence (e.g in Castilla y León 60.5% of municipalities). According to the Encuentro Foundation, due
to the recent demographic evolution in rural areas, it is reasonable to think that this proportion has increased.
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h. Gender
The generalized male predominance in rural population affects almost every Autonomous Community and is present in a very large share of municipalities no matter their size, although it evidently increases in smaller villages2.
This unbalanced is mainly caused by the greater incidence of rural exodus among women, since they must frequently search for remunerated job opportunities outside the rural world. The high rates of bachelorhood in rural
areas will unquestionably imply decrease in fertility rates and the possibilities to form new families for the renovation and revitalization of run-down regions. Rural women are more exposed to poverty since usually they do not
perform a paid activity. Actually, most of the work carried out by women is not registered anywhere (Camarero
Rioja, 2006).
i. Migration
The evolution of migration trends in rural areas has gained considerable complexity during the last years due to
the presence of new phenomena. Some key factors can be summarized as follows:
• Rural population is growing mainly due to a positive balance of migration flows in 55.9% of rural municipalities: greater immigration and a moderation of rural exodus
• The situation is much more complex than in the past regarding aspects such as the origin of migrants, the
type of migration flows and the characteristics of migrants
• Regarding internal migrations, there has been a progressive increase of short movements (69% of internal
migrant come from the same province), due to the growing residential migrations in periurban zones.
• Rural exodus has slowed down during the last years, but it still persists. In 2005 it implied the most important internal migration flow and it was the cause of the negative migration rate in 17 inland and northeast
provinces.
• There is an increasing weight of the so-called returning migrations, i.e people who return to their home villages after a previous migration to urban areas or abroad.
• According to the Statistics on Residential Variations, 21% of newcomers in rural areas are foreigners (2005).
These trends are unevenly distributed among regions in Spain, so in Map 2 it has been identified five different
typologies of rural areas in connection to their migratory features. The first type corresponds to territories with negative migration rates among the adult population as a consequence of the rural exodus that is not compensated by
the arrival of foreign immigrants. Migration rates are positive in the age group under 15 years and the elderly. The
Map 2. Types of regions attending to the migratory structure in municipalities with less than 10.000.
Year 2005
Source: Fundación Encuentro
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second type shows positive migration rates in all age groups, which are especially age among children and the youth
due to the labour and residential migration associated to good economic perspectives in these regions
(Mediterranean coast, Madrid, Navarra and Seville). The third migratory pattern is quite similar to the previous one
except for showing negative migration rates in the upper age groups. Two different trends can be identified within
this patter. The first one (3.1) does not show negative rates among the youth, however they are not very high (nor
in the case of children). In the second subtype, migration rates among children and the youth are clearly greater than
in the case of adults and the elderly. Finally, the fourth type, which is only found in coastal regions of the Basque
Country, shows low positive rates among young adults and negative rates among older adults and the elderly.
3.3.2. Child poverty
Reducing child poverty is a priority goal of Spanish national policies. The National Plan for Social Inclusion contains as one of its action priorities for especially vulnerable groups “to develop common strategies by means of local
organisms and the associative movement to enhance the quality of life of children, with a special emphasis in rural
areas, in accordance to different social cultural and environmental scenarios”. Also the National Strategy for
Childhood and Adolescence highlights the high risk of children to fall into social exclusion situations and poverty,
providing coordination methods among different administrations to tackle the problem, both in urban and rural areas.
In recent years an Observatory for Childhood has been created to watch over infants rights and to provide periodical data on their quality of life and opportunities. According to the INE, whereas the share of the overall population
that lives under the poverty threshold (as defined in section 3.1) amounted to 19.9%, the same proportion among
children reached 25% in 2004. Besides, this rate has not decreased in the last 10 years despite the efforts made by
Public Administrations. Children living with a lone parent or in large families increase their risk of poverty rate to
40%. Furthermore, the redistributive impact of welfare state regarding child poverty is very low, compared to the
EU level: whereas in Spain the child poverty rate is reduced by 17.2% after applying public transfers and benefits,
this reduction reached 39.4% at EU level. Unfortunately, there is not specific data on child poverty in rural areas.
Notes
1 Some of the dimensions suggested in the guidelines for the elaboration of this document have been set aside due to the lack of accurate information and data for rural areas
2 See Table 4
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4. Rural poverty and policies
4.1 Rural Poverty and Social policies in Spain
As mentioned above, the National Plan for Social Inclusion does not pay a particular attention to specific needs of
rural areas, except for some partial mentions regarding the promotion of information technologies and the enhancement of the quality of life of children. Indeed, the digital gap seems to be one of the main sources of concern of
Spanish Administration, which will be dealt further on in this section. Regarding child poverty and social exclusion, we refer to section 3.3.2, where the issue is specifically covered.
However, the absence of further explicit mentions to rural areas concerning other policies does not imply a total
neglect of the matter. The Plan identifies five general priorities to fight poverty and social exclusion regardless the
urban or rural nature of the territory where they are apply
• To foment access to employment: promoting the participation in the labour market and fighting against
poverty and social exclusion
•
•
•
•
To guarantee minimum economic resources
To achieve equity in education
To support social integration of immigrants
To guarantee assistance to dependants
Among these five general targets, probably the most relevant one for the rural world is the provision of social services to dependants. Indeed, one of the areas where the Spanish Government is putting a special emphasis is the
development of the so-called “fourth pillar of the welfare state” for the provision of care services to dependants,
which in rural areas should have a very noticeable impact. In a demographic context characterized by a highly aged
population and hence by high levels of dependence social services must play a crucial role in rural areas. As reported in Blanco (2002), the provision of retirement homes and nursing homes are the most demanded services by the
elderly in Castilla y Leon, which is one of the Autonomous Communities where rurality shows a greater predominance. According to the data base of the Portal Mayores3 79.5% of municipalities with less than 10.000 do not
count with old people´s homes.
The recent approval of the Law of Personal Autonomy and Assistance to Dependants provides new expectations
in the development of social services in rural areas, not only in terms of the satisfaction of rural population’s need
in this concern, but also as a mean to create new jobs in the regions, especially for women. Nonetheless, there still
exists great uncertainty about the effective implementation of the measures and the management of the financial
resources, as a great administrative coordination is needed. Also the definition of the beneficiaries of the measures
in terms of their degree of dependence will play a crucial role in the final impact. Local governments should play
a crucial role in the management and implementation of the measures and financial resources gathered in the new
Law.
Undoubtedly, due to their wide scope, all the suggested priorities in the NPSI are expected to have a considerable
impact on rural poverty, although their final implementation and success will depend to a large extent on the intervention of local governments and organisms4. Each of those five objectives contains a set of measures of policies
whose detailed assessment would escape from the scope of this report. Nevertheless, some general comments can
be made regarding their general features and the potential impact in rural areas.
To foment access to employment. One of the main targets contained in this general objective is the achievement
of higher rates of female employment and the reduction of gender gaps in salaries, which in is one of the weakest
points regarding employment and social inclusion issues in rural areas. The NPSI refers to the Agreement for Better
Growth and Employment signed in July 2006 by the Government and social interlocutors to tackle the key problems of the Spanish labour market (i.e. temporality and female employment), which, among other measures, contains the provision of certain incentives and benefits for permanent contracts for women and other disadvantaged
groups. Nonetheless, the absolute absence of any mention to particular labour circumstances of women in rural
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areas may suggest certain ineffectiveness on this matter, as their disadvantage in the labour market in rural areas
cannot be measured in terms of discrimination by employers. In fact, the risks of exclusion for women in rural areas
should be addressed in terms of new sources of employment for them, rather than providing benefits for permanent contracts. Rural women must be provided with better opportunities by encouraging new businesses that help
them to develop their potential abilities. Some trends during the last years are pointing in this direction, as new
activities such as ecological agriculture and rural tourism are gaining importance as new sources of employment
among rural women.
To guarantee minimum economic resources. By means of significant improvements in the social security system and other public transfers, the Spanish Administration aims to enhance income levels for those in a greater risk
to fall under the poverty threshold. Among the measures gathered in the NPSI, probably the most important ones
for the enhancement of quality of life in rural areas, due to the high incidence of population aging, are the improvements of pensions (with a 26% of growth target in the period 2004-2008) and non-contributive pensions (i.e. benefits for those who do not reach the minimum contribution to the social security system).
Apart from these benefits, all the Autonomous Communities have implemented their own scheme of minimum
guaranteed income for those population segments lacking any economic resources. The regulation, denomination
and prerequisites for obtaining the benefits considerably vary among Autonomous Communities; nevertheless
there are some important weaknesses that should be highlighted with regard to the impact in rural areas. First of
all, the minimum income is not recognized as an individual right in every Autonomous Community, but only few
of them (e.g. Basque Country, Asturias or Catalonia) pay the benefits under fixed requirements ruled by law and
regardless budget constrains. However, the greatest shortcoming of this kind of measures to impact welfare in rural
areas is that the possibility of obtaining the benefits is conditioned to the participation of the beneficiaries in social
inclusion projects (normally in the area of employment health and education), whose provision is not guaranteed
at all in rural areas. Another important measure to guarantee a minimum income in rural areas is the so-called
Agrarian Subsidy, which is an unemployment subsidy that attempts to cover the special circumstances of agrarian
labour (temporality and discontinuity along the year). Only agrarian workers from Extremadura and Andalusia (the
regions with the highest share of agrarian employment) are entitled to perceive the subsidy. The implementation of
this measure during the last 20 years has caused an undeniable positive effect in rural areas by guaranteeing a minimum income during the periods in which agrarian activities do not require employment. However, this measure
has been a source of controversy regarding not only its limited geographical application but also the regulation of
the requirements to obtain the benefits, the fraud and the debate about possible discouraging effects for employment.
To achieve equity in the education system. One of the main targets of the Spanish Administration is the improvement of education in terms of equity, aiming to develop human capital as a productive factor that, not only contributes to economic growth and productivity, but also to achieve equal opportunities in the society, investing in a
adequate functioning and the quality of education services. However, explicit measures and objectives concerning
rural areas must be found outside the NPSI. Since Autonomous Communities bear the legislative powers in education issues, most of the measures concerning rural areas stem from regional governments, although the New
Frame Law on Education, approved in 2006, contains some general principles in this topic. First of all, it recognizes the peculiarities of education needs in rural areas to encourage specific interventions by the public administration, and it establishes the gratuity of transport and canteen services in primary education for children who must
move to other municipalities for attending school. Some organizational models of rural schools are managed by
Autonomous Communities, normally establishing “Grouped Rural Schools” that provide services for different
municipalities.
To Support social integration of immigrants. Undoubtedly, the arrival of intense immigration flows to rural areas
is one of the most important challenges to tackle concerning social inclusion policies. Although in the NPSI there
is no a clear reference to this issue in connection to rurality, the intensive activity performed at general level should
be reflected to some extent in these areas. Some of the most important measures are the following:
• Implementation of the Strategic National Plan of Integration and Citizenship
• Elaboration of regional Strategic Plans by the Autonomous Communities in order to fulfil the targets of the
Fund for Support and Integration of Immigrants and Education Strengthening (created by the Ministry of
Labour and Social Issues)
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• Subsidization of innovative integration programs by local governments
Apart from these five axes of action that summarize the priorities for the period 2006-2008, the NPSI contains
other measures and principles in many other areas such as social services, housing, justice and health. Nevertheless
there is no explicit reference to rural needs despite the relevance of some of these issues, especially in the case of
health. Indeed, the document gathers some measures and guidelines embedded in a general health policy regardless any territorial consideration. Neither the Plan for Enhancement of Quality in the National Health System contains measures explicitly aiming to the improvement of health care in rural areas. Nevertheless, the Government
has recently announced the elaboration of a new draft law about the Sustainable Development of Rural Areas,
whose final approval is expected for the coming months. The new law is expected to be the a comprehensive initiative to tackle most of the traditional problems in this ambit, including education, health, economic diversification, environment, information technologies, etc.
4.2 Rural Poverty and main policies affecting rural areas
The Common Agricultural Policy
The first Pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) covers direct payments to farmers and continuing market-related subsidies under the common market organisations such as buying of products into public storage, surplus disposal schemes and export subsidies. However, the impact that direct payments have on the income of rural
areas and their subsequent development is a very difficult topic to assess from a statistical point view. Some
Authors, like Arnalte (2002) have pointed out certain deviations with respect to the original target of the transfers:
• Some of the benefits are obtained by farmers who live in urban areas, which is increasingly frequent in
extensive cultivations and thanks to the improvement in communications systems.
• In some cases, the development of atypical ownership regimes by means of which farmers who emigrate or
retire usually hand over the land to professional farmers from the villages, whereas they continue receiving
transfers.
• There is an increasing importance of fraud in the provision of transfers by the so-called “bonushunters”.
Nonetheless, these weaknesses in the application of the direct aid should not be considered to be incompatible with
the usual assertion that a large share of the rural population is being fed thanks to the CAP (Molinero and Alario,
1994). Furthermore, the reform of the PAC agreed in 2003 aims to tackle these problems concerning ownership
regimes, which, according to the literature, should yield satisfactory results in the mid term.
The reform carried out in 2003 also implied a turning point in terms of greater efforts aiming to a more comprehensive rural development concept, rather than exclusively market and income oriented measures. Among the specific group oriented measures, it should be highlighted the provision of specific aid for young farmers in a temporary and decreasing basis, in order to enhance their adaptation to new regulations and to finance costs on consulting services, which may certainly help to avoid depopulation and to enhance the opportunities of youth in rural
areas. Also the implementation of a unique transfer in accordance to the cultivated surface instead of the level of
promotion should be regarded as a powerful measure to fight against the abandoning of lands.
The National Strategic Plan Ffor Rural Development
Regarding the set of measures to enhance quality of life and the diversification of rural areas (Axis 3 of the
NSPRD), the national priorities are: the creation of employment opportunities, in particular to promote the access
of women to labour market; the creation of new small/mid-size firms; the diversification of land towards nonagrarian uses; the promotion of new entrepreneurship and rural tourism, the modernization of local infrastructures
and services for the rural population; the restoration, conservation and valuation of architectural and agrarian heritage. The overarching goal of this axis, as stated in the National Strategy, is the avoidance of depopulation processes in rural areas. There is an evident focus on those kinds of measures aiming to enhance the attractiveness of rural
areas, with a special emphasis on the renovation of infrastructures and resources for tourism. Women are the only
group at risk that has attracted the attention of the Spanish Administration regarding quality of life in the NSPRD,
since they are the most prone to emigrate to urban areas. In this regard, other disadvantaged groups should have
been mentioned as well, particularly the young.
With regard to indicators, the NSPRD provides the share of farmers who combine agrarian activities with other
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remunerated jobs, which is a good proxy for the level of diversification of activities in rural areas, and the share of
the overall employment in secondary and tertiary, which, given the lack of specification for rural areas, may not
result so useful for the Plan´s purposes. In order to measure the development of rural tourism, the NSPRD provides
as an indicator the number of tourist facilities in rural areas (in absolute values), but this figure does not show any
comparability possibility, and hence a relative measure would be more useful. Other indicators reflect the share of
municipalities with less than 10.000 inhabitants that have access to broad band services and the share of adult population receiving life long training (but with no specification to rural areas). In general, it seems evident that further efforts are needed to improve the quality and adequacy of indicators corresponding to third axis of action of
the NSPRD.
There are 18 Leader+ programmes in Spain: one national and seventeen regional ones. The Leader+ National
Programme supports Local Action Groups which are located in two or more autonomous regions. It finances also
networking activities carried out by the Promotion and Animation Unit (Célula de Promoción y Animación). The
17 Leader+ regional programmes are implemented in respective autonomous regions and meant for the local
groups whose total territory is situated within one region. The regional programmes allow for actions5 1, 2 and 4
and not for action 3 since the network activity is supported by the national programme, although the NSPRD points
that 80% of the funds assigned to LEADER policies will be implemented in areas of the third axis of the NSPRD.
The specific objectives of the LEADER axis are:
•
•
•
•
•
A better use of the structure of the preexisting groups of local action (GLA) and their associations
Application of GLA´s experiences to other areas
Improvement of local governance
To foster cooperation between private sector and public sector
Promotion of cooperation and innovation
There is also in Spain another Leader type initiative, called PRODER, which has a common support regime as well
as identical methodology and networking instruments. The 12 PRODER schemes (with 162 local programmes) are
included in the Structural Funds programming for rural development, managed on the regional level and financed
by national and Community funds. Moreover, in Galicia there are 10 Leader type local programmes (AGADER),
financed only by national funds.
Structural Policy
The planned measures for rural development in Spain for the period 2007-2013 will contribute to achieve the goals
set in the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), as many of them coincide with those gathered in the
NSPRD. Indeed, the rural development policy has been traditionally embedded in the structural policy and,
although in the future the will be separated, there exist many points in common and hence strong synergies among
them. The NSRF is one of the instruments for the implementation of the Community strategic guidelines in Spain.
In this regard, the definition of the overarching objectives of the NSRF directly responds to the ones established in
those orientations, with the addition of a specific target about the improvement of institutional capacity. As a result,
all the measures of the European orientations are gathered in the axes of action of the NSRF and, correspondently, all the axes of the Framework have a direct connection with at least one of the orientations.
Among the priorities set in the NSRF, there is an explicit mention to certain rural problems closely related to the
eradication of poverty and the enhancement of quality of life:
“It is necessary to avoid the depopulation of certain zones, especially the rural ones, that generate the concentration
of population in a reduced number of municipalities (maintaining the percentage of population residing in villages with
less than 10.000 inhabitants). For such a purpose, it is necessary to guarantee a minimum provision of urban and social
infrastructures, and to design municipalities as integrated sources of employment and opportunities, in which an adequate quality of life and environmental protection should be provided”
Regarding specific groups at risk, the NSRF seems to pay a particular attention to the promotion of gender equality and the struggle against the increasing rates of population aging and it consequences in terms of dependence.
However, there is no reference to particularly weak groups in rural areas.
The main socioeconomic information of convergence and socioeconomic regions gathered in the NSRF is summarized in the next table:
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Table 5. Socioeconomic weaknesses and strengths in convergence and competition regions
g
g
p
g
Weaknesses
Strengths
- Low education level and high rates - Population growth and an
of early school leaving
adequate proportion of young
- Insufficient social structures
population
- Insufficient transport infrastructures - Convergence in road transport
(railways)
infrastructures with respect
- Insufficient capacity to manage
EU25
residuals
- High capacity of employment
- Problems of water supply and
creation
overexploitation of hydrological - Increase
in
environmental
resources
awareness
- Too small sized firms for - Progress in renewable energies
exportation and innovation
- High levels of biodiversity, and
Convergence
- Insufficient investments in R&D
cultural and landscape wealth
Regions
- Low rate of penetration of ICT´s
- High temporality in employment;
low employment rate for women and
population 55; high long terms
unemployment rate
- Low productivity and GDP per
capita
- Low reduction of regional disparities
- Unbalance of population distribution
and territorial development
- Specialization in activities with a
low added value
- Insufficient population with mid
- Demographic dynamism and
Competition
level education and high rates of
immigration
Regions
early school leaving
- High proportion of population
- Insufficient social structures
with advanced education
- Insufficient transport infrastructures
- Adequate
productive
(railways)
infrastructures
- Insufficient capacity to manage
- High level of R&D in public
residuals
sector
- Problems of water supply and
- Large firms and productive
overexploitation of hydrological
clusters
resources
- Agglomeration economy
- Large proportion of small/mid size
- Environmental awareness as a
firms
horizontal priority
- Insufficient investments in R&D in
- Capacity
of
employment
private sector
creation
- Los rate of use of ICT´s
- Great nature diversity
- Concentration of qualified human
resources in certain zones and high
gender gap
- Insufficient awareness about equal
opportunities as an horizontal
priority
- Competitivity loss
- Unbalance of population distribution
and territorial development
- Regressive demography and high
population aging
- Entrepreneurship concentrated in
specific sectors
Source: NSRF
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4.3 Significant measures affecting poverty and groups at risk in rural areas
The promotion of information and communication technologies
The problem of lack of networks and access to broad band access in the rural world has been an issue of interest
for Public Administrations since the early development of these technologies. They have designed different strategies and deployed several actions in order to alleviate this problem, although there have been frequent coordination problems that still persist nowadays. Whereas the initiatives launched by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and
Commerce have attempted to reach consensus in financial issues, the Autonomous Communities have applied different approaches and processes.
One of the most important measures to tackle the digital gap observed in rural areas is the Program for Extension
of Broadband in Rural and Isolated Zones (2005-2008), launched by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and
Commerce. The main objective, whose implementation requires the intervention of Autonomous Communities, is
to extend network coverage to the overall population by the end of 2008. According to some studies performed for
the preparation of the program, in 70% of Spanish municipalities it was impossible to access broad band services
(2005 data). The program is expected to allow new access to broadband services for 6.457.060 inhabitants, distributed in 3.769 municipalities from 11 Autonomous Communities. The selected operators and services providers
receive credits and in some cases direct subsidies in order to equalize the opportunities to hire ADSL services. The
approved budget for subsidies to Autonomous Communities (ERDF objective 1) amounted to 22.4 million euros,
and 34.7 million euros in credits with zero interest rate for all Autonomous Communities. The operators benefiting from the program are expected to invest 231.2 million euros during the period 2005-2008.
The other large scale initiative in this topic is the program “Internet Rural. Telecentros (2004-2007)” promoted by
Red.es (a public corporate entity linked to the Ministry of Industry) and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities
and Provinces (FEMP). Its main objective is to facilitate the access to new technologies in rural areas, as well as
to less integrated social groups in order to achieve their effective participation in the information society. The program has allowed numerous villages outside the network coverage to access broadband internet services, thanks to
the establishment of publicly accessible centres that provide free services with a high connection quality. Thanks
to the success of the success of this measure, a new initiative called Telcentros.es was launched with the additional participation of the Ministry of Agriculture I order to extend the services to disadvantaged urban areas. So far,
the program has helped to set up more than 3.500 internet centres all over the Spanish geography.
The role of local policies
In any policy analysis or prospective proposal addressing the problems of the rural world it seems crucial to mention the indispensable role of local governments. The public local policies have been evolving around economic
development axes spatial planning and services for citizens, adding a dimension of environmental sustainability.
In all of these aspects there have been important changes. Social policies contain measures aiming to two areas that
show increasing interrelations among them: the processes of social inclusion-exclusion concerning the labour market, and the distribution of resources, values and development opportunities beyond the market. But, according to
Encuentro Foundation (2007) the main problem for rural local governments is that most of those policies have
been configured in a universalistic and indivisible basis. Many of the policies have been implemented under the
assumption that they responded to homogeneous demands, whereas the reality in many rural municipalities is that
they do not reflect the characteristics commonly associated to urban-industrialized areas that in some cases inspire
general policies. It is necessary to adopt new forms of local governments that are able to adapt to realities and peculiarities of the Spanish rural world and to confront new social challenges.
In this context, it is important to assess weather small rural municipalities have the capacity to promote new initiatives for rural development. Many of the problems affecting depopulated municipalities are shared by other
neighbouring villages, which suggest the possibility of enhancing new cooperation and organizational models at
local level. In this regard, the so-called “mancomunidades” play a crucial role by voluntarily gathering municipalities that seek territorial solidarity to confront common problems, and they are normally set with a specific purpose
(transport, water, residuals, etc.). The voluntary character of their configuration is usually linked to the achievement of economies of scale, improvements in local management, homogenization of taxes, and better services for
citizens. However, this organizational model has a deficient regulation and almost not existing financial aid.
Another possible formula, as pointed out by the Encuentro Foundation (2007), would be to extent the powers of
the “comarcas” (possibly equivalent to shires), which, would signify a new level of local administration with specific powers instead of a voluntary association of local governments.
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5. Poverty and groups at risk: case studies on significant
groups at risk
5.1. Women in rural areas
The active role of women (specially the young ones) and the need to increase their predominance in rural areas
have become essential aspects in the design of policies aiming to the generational change in agriculture and the
future of the rural society in general. The female rural exodus that took place in Spain during the 70´s responded
to a strategy of clear generational breaking-off with respect to the generalized submissiveness of women within the
traditional family structure. Thus, rural young women stared aiming for wage-earning jobs and new sources of
employment in urban areas that allowed them to find more personal autonomy and profession identity. The decline
of agrarian activities in rural societies and the new urban-rural relations gave rise to a scenario in which women
found great difficulties, especially for those who are traditionally employed in agriculture. But on the other hand
these new circumstances allowed new opportunities to access a restricted labour market in rural areas and participate, despite the presence of gender discrimination, in civil society and the process of rural development.
Although women engaged in agricultural activities are a minority within the group of rural women, they still signify an important resource for the maintenance and sustainability of family farms and rural territories in general.
However, according to the Agrarian Census 1999, among women who carry out agrarian activities as owners of
the land, 61% correspond to marginal farms, less or equal than 2 ESU (and 24% to farms between 2 and 7 ESU).
The economic viability of these farms is very low and it depends to a large extent on the performance of parallel
activities in other sectors. According to the White Book of Agriculture and Rural Development of Spain, smallsized farms run by women count for 40% of those in highest risk to disappear. Only1.4% of women own farms
larger than 40 ESU (although there are important regional disparities) and 71% of farms owned by women are
located in inland non-competitive rural areas.
The female wage-earnning labour in agriculture and agribusinesses has a predominant temporary character.
Andalusia, Murcia and Extremadura concentrate 83% of the days worked by women in a temporary basis. This
temporary character is closely related to the seasonal nature of much of the cultivation, which are located in the
southern half of the country and the Mediterranean coast. The increasing prevalence of women in intensive agriculture responds to the flexibility of female labour force that fits into the needs of this type of cultivations that
require discontinuous working times. Women also considerably contribute to the employment in agribusinesses,
which in 1999 amounted to 31% of total employment in the sector. However, 60.2% of the jobs offered in agribusinesses are temporary.
The features of the current rural society, with a greater occupational diversification, have given rise to new challenges and opportunities for the heterogeneous group of rural women. Some of the new emerging activities are
closely related to tasks traditionally performed by women as non declared work. The White Book of Agriculture
and Rural Development identifies some of them:
• Help work in small-sized family farms
• Certain jobs in manufacturing and agribusinesses that used to remain hidden as fake self-employment
• Non-declared domestic services
In this regard, the fiscal policies for the regularization of the labour market and social protection, which in the last
years have aimed to combat the underground economy, have facilitated the emergence of “hidden” jobs performed
by women, helping to improve their position and autonomy in the family structure and the rural society.
Finally, it is important not to neglect the innovative experiences carried out by women in rural areas and the significant female entrepreneurship and professionals that have contribute to rural development. A large share of projects lead by women have focused on activities that have traditionally belonged to their area of influence, which
now are suitable for the market and the development of a professional career (e.g. rural tourism, small commerce,
craftwork, etc.). Within this innovative experiences, women seem to have taken an advantageous position in the
performance of the so-called “food quality” activities, by means of their increasing participation in the exploitation of ecological cultivations. These activities aiming to the diversification of opportunities for rural women, usually supported by rural development programs (NOW, LEADER and PRODER), are compatible with social and
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economic need of the families and have enabled the use of previous knowledge and the recovery of idle resources
that have helped to generate complementary earnings. Most of women undertaking this kind of projects are older
than 35, have small children, belong to the middle income class and have access to some family goods and
resources.
With regard to their participation in civil society, women seem to have noticeably increased their presence in local
elites and particularly in the leadership of municipalities. There has been a significant increase in the female participation in local politics, especially in municipalities with less than 20.000 inhabitants. The greatest growth of
female candidates and elected positions has been registered in municipalities with less than 2.000 inhabitants.
Table 6. Local political elites
p in municipalities withpless than 20.000 inhabitants
Year
Male Mayors
1983
1991
1995
Female Mayors
7670
7420
7084
172
384
494
Male townFemale towncouncillors
councillors
52700
2382
45573
5807
42373
7830
Source: White Book of Agriculture and Rural Development
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the policies and initiatives that are being currently implemented, which
find the origin in EU guidelines and other international institutions and are fostered by organizations for the
defence of women rights, aim to solve the most frequent problems faced by rural women, acting under the following objectives:
• The adoption of a gender perspective in all the rules about rural development and in the application of the
agrarian policies
• The promotion of greater participation of women in the public decision making
• The promotion of greater participation in agrarian associations and especially in their executive boards
• The acknowledgment of women who perform family complementary work in the agrarian sector by making “visible” their work. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture signed an agreement with the Ministry
of Labour and Social Issues and Professional Agrarian Associations that contains several measures to foster
joint ownership of farms, such as the reduction of social security contributions.
• The promotion of new labour activities and contributions to their diversification (rural tourism, craftwork,
ecological farming, etc.)
• The creation of services that help for the compatibility of personal and working life, such as kindergartens,
retirement homes, improvement of transport infrastructures, etc.
There has been several initiatives launched by the European Union focused on solving concrete problems related
to rural development, and some of them are explicitly oriented to women as group at risk of social exclusion. These
initiatives have favoured the creation of different projects in Spain for the enhancement of the living conditions of
rural women. The most important ones can be summarized as follows:
• LEADER. As pointed out above, this initiative was launched to directly combat rural exodus, depopulation
and loss of employment in rural areas by means of the mobilization of social agents from the rural environment and applying a decentralized territorial approach through the Groups of Local Action. The last phase
of LEADER+ has paid a particular attention to equal opportunities between women and men with a special
emphasis on strategies for equal employment opportunities.
• EQUAL. Its overarching objective is to combat any form of discrimination and inequalities that occur in the
labour market. One of its most important targets is to fight against the discrimination of women who are
searching for a job by means of the creation of new forms of work organization that allow the compatibility of family life and working life, as well as the reduction of gender inequalities and segregation in any
aspect of the labour market. The main beneficiaries of this initiative are the Development Associations,
which are composed of public associations, territorial entities, employment services, NGO´s, small/mid
sized firms and social interlocutors.
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• NOW. Its main objective is to revitalize the living condition of rural women by promoting the growth of
employment through new job sources. It has passed different phases (NOW 1 and NOW 2) in which different measures, such as employment orientation and advising, and the subsidization of new businesses.
At national level, the most important initiative to tackle the problem of gender inequality is the recent Frame Law
on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men, which, among other measures, enforces the principle of equal
treatment and the elimination of every form of discrimination against women. It gathers a set of measures in every
aspect of political, juridical and social life. It recognizes the right to conciliate working and personal aspects of life
and it promotes a shared responsibility among men and women concerning family duties. It establishes a balanced
representation among men and women in every branch of Public Administrations and Corporate Executive Boards,
and it sets fixed participation quotas in electoral candidacies.
Apart from this specific legal instrument, the government had launched a Plan for Equal Opportunities for the period 2003-2006 that contains a set of 165 measures organized in 8 different areas, although only 4 measures are
exclusively designed for rural women. Additionally, every autonomous community has elaborated its own Plan on
Gender Equality, and 5 out of 17 contain an independent section on rural women (Catalonia, Castilla y León,
Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, and Aragon). According to a comparative study by the Ministry of Labour, the
Autonomous Communities’ Plans focus on the following key aspects concerning rural women:
•
•
•
•
The promote the acknowledgment of the role of women in rural areas
The claim that women’s work must be properly valued
The improvement of labour conditions and the promotion of entrepreneurship
The improvement of social services for women in rural areas
5.2. The elderly in rural areas
The sharp aging process of the rural population is one of its most predominant features. Spanish population has
rapidly aged, but especially in rural areas due to the combined effect of the rural exodus, the fall of birth and fecundity rates, the increase of life expectancy and the added presence of old returned migrants. The proportion of population older than 65 is currently 5.9 and 4.6 percentage points higher than in urban areas and the overall population respectively. One of the most remarkable demographic facts in the rural world is that the population older than
65 is on the average greater than the population under 15.
The aging process of the rural population affects unevenly the Spanish territory. There are certain regions with a
particularly old population in the northern coastal zone and the inner lands of the northern half of the peninsula
(except in the Basque Country and Navarra), as well as in Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura. These regions are
particularly affected by emigration trends, low fertility and a notable inflow of old returned migrants. On the contrary, the southern half of the country, the islands and the Mediterranean coast have been able to retain their young
population, and have benefited from residential and labour immigration flows linked to their greater economic
dynamism.
Regardless the geographical situation, it exists a general tendency towards greater rates of population aging in connection to the size of municipalities. Whereas mid and large sized villages show certain demographic vitality, in
the small ones indicators show a hardly recoverable situation. The scenario is particularly disadvantageous in
municipalities with less than 500 inhabitants, where different aspects coincide: between 30% and 40% of the population is above 65 years old, negative migratory balance and negative population growth. The size of municipalities and the weight of agriculture in the economy are the factors that in a larger extent determine the incidence of
highly aged populations in the inland regions of the northern half of the country and some territories of the southern tableland and Andalusia. The highest rates of over-aged population can be found along mountainous regions
and the border with Portugal.
The socioeconomic position of the elderly in Spain can be summarized by means of certain quantitative indicators
provided by the Continuous Survey on Family Budgets and Survey on Living Conditions (INE). However, as we
pointed out in the section 3.1, there is no specific mention to living condition in rural areas. According to IMSERSO (2005), in Spain almost one out of three households are led by an old person (older than 65), whereas the expenditure of these households only accounts for 27.7% of the overall household expenditure. Indeed, the expenditure
of a household led by an old person accounts for 73.7% of the average household expenditure. According to the
latest Survey on Living Conditions (2005), 19.8% of the overall Spanish population lives under the above defined
poverty threshold, whereas this proportion among the elderly reaches 29.4%. These figures are specially worrying
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when they are compared to the situation in 2002, when the general poverty rate amounted to 18.8% whereas 22.2%
of the elderly were under the threshold.
Old women are even more disadvantaged in terms of the poverty rate (31%), whereas the elderly leaving alone sow
the highest risk of poverty (43%).
Most of the general characteristics of the inland non-productive rural territories, such as the isolated and difficult
orographic conditions, the scarcity of social services and the exodus of young population, have a particular impact
in the quality of life of the elderly who commonly suffer from the following problems:
• Restricted access to services. The mentioned features of disadvantaged rural areas lead to serious problems
for accessing resources widely available in urban areas. Some times this is due to the absolute absence of
some of the services, but in some other cases, specially when it comes to the design of measure regarding
the elderly, social services do not properly match into the specific need in rural areas, due to the predominantly urban character of the principles that inspire them.
• Social isolation. As a consequence of the vicious circle dynamics, the absence of places and institutions
where the elderly can interact among themselves and with rest of the society creates a progressive neglect
of community’s principles and belonging sentiments. This isolation process seems to be more frequent
among women. The limitation of interpersonal relations restricts the possibility of acquiring knowledge and
other skills that help to escape from poverty traps, negatively affecting their quality of life.
• Limitation of autonomy and reduction of opportunities. The absence or inadequacy of social services for the
elderly in rural areas leads to situations of dependence that seriously undermine their personal autonomy and
quality of life.
Hence, in a demographic context like rural territories in which the rates of population aging are very high, the provision of social services aiming to the elderly plays a crucial role to struggle against rural poverty and to enhance
the quality of life of this specific group. Regarding the demands by old people in the Spanish countryside, a study
by Blanco (2002) shows the results of a survey carried out in Castilla y Leon about their priorities concerning social
services. The results are summarized in the following graphFigure 4:
Figure 4. Social services and resources demanded by the elderly in municipalities of Castilla y Leon
with less than 2.000 inhabitants. Year 2001
Bar
Bank office
Cultural centre
3,2%
6,0%
10,8%
16,1%
Pharmacy
Commercial centres
16,5%
Family doctor
17,7%
Health centre
32,1%
Nursing homes
33,3%
Old people´s homes
0%
49,4%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Source: Blanco (2002)
In the field of policies aiming to the welfare of the elderly, the Action Plan for the Elderly (2003-2007) contains a
wide set of measures that directly or indirectly affect rural areas. Besides, the APE contains within its first objective (which is to promote the autonomy and participation of the elderly in the community under the principle of
“active aging”) a specific strategy that aims “to promote programs and special interventions for the elderly in rural
areas”. This explicit consideration in the general objectives is also reflected in several specific measures that are
summarized in the next tTable 6:
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Table 6. Measures and collaborating institutions for the elderly in rural areas
Measures
Promotion of socio-cultural, health
and education initiatives:
- Voluntary work
- Education actions
- Assisted living services
- Medical care at home
- Institutional support to NGO´s
actions
- To strengthen the use of new
technologies
Collaborating Institutions
-
Promotion of specific resources to
strengthen the integration of the
elderly in the rural environment
Work promotion by means of support
networks
for
the
transfer
of
knowledge and new experiences
-
Creation of new “digital villages”
that allow the elderly to enjoy the
possibilities that information society
may provides them.
Availability of internet access points,
within the implementation of the
Program Rural Internet, for a better
access to the internet by the elderly
-
Year
Ministry of Labour and Social
Issues
Ministry of Education and
Science
Autonomous Communities
Spanish
federation
of
Municipalities and Provinces
Ministry of Labour and Social
Issues
Ministry of Education and
Science
Autonomous Communities
Local governments
Ministry of Labour and Social
Issues
Ministry of Education and
Science
Autonomous Communities
Ministry of Labour and Social
Issues
Ministry of Science and
Technology (former)
Autonomous Communities
Local governments
Ministry of Labour and Social
Issues
Ministry of Science and
Technology (former)
Ministry of Education and
Science
Autonomous Communities
2004-07
2004-07
2005-07
2003-07
2003-07
Source: Action Plan for the Elderly 2003-07
The available information about European policies and funds on social inclusion and rural development does not
allow disaggregating the measures and resources specifically dedicated to the elderly in rural areas, as many of
them respond to broader objectives.
Regarding budget information, the most accurate approximation to national financial resources dedicated to the
elderly is provided by the National Plan for Social Inclusion:
Table 7. Budget of the National Plan for Social Inclusion for the elderly and other related groups and
services
2004
Assistance to Dependants
Health
Social Services
Inclusion in the society of information
The Elderly
People with disabilities
Homeless people
Total
2005
0
435.307.656
750.232.208
14.653.222
640.528.155
1.234.461.953
22.930.982
21.376.178.136
50.000.000 458.803.819
778.552.268
22.459.210
780.722.680
1.368.500.398
25.731.028
23.399.290.272
Growth 0405 (%)
5,4
3,8
53,3
21,9
10,9
12,2
9,5
2006-2007
(Estimation)
1.000.000.000
1.085.856.740
1.650.723.060
127.622.946
1.877.422.095
3.361.891.140
61.831.529
56.593.358.178
Accumulated Growth
2006-07 with respect to
2005
300
10,1
4
71,3
13,1
14,3
12,8
13,2
Source: National Plan for Social Inclusion
Notes
3 See www.imsersomayores.csic.es
4 See section 4.3 for futher comments on this aspect
5 Lader + is structured around four actions: Action 1: Support for integrated territorial development strategies of a pilot nature based on
a bottom-up approach , Action 2: Support for cooperation between rural territories, Action 3: Networking, and Technical assistance.
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6. Conclusions
Spain is mainly a rural country, with more than 47% of its territory considered predominantly rural, according to
the OECD methodology. In spite of the importance of rural areas, only 15% of the population live in those areas
and they contribute to just 12% of total Spanish GVA.
Due to the different characteristics of Spanish rural areas, 3 types of ruralities have been defined to better understand the socio-economic needs of the population: coastal and periurban rural areas, defined by economic
dynamism and demographic growth; competitive inland rural areas, with active and innovative agri-food businesses; and non-competitive inland rural areas, with higher rates of marginality and lower productivity and economic
development. A large share of these impoverished areas is located in the plateau and in mountainous regions. The
excessive population aging, the exodus of youth (especially women), and the decline of the agrarian sector are the
main socioeconomic handicaps, which in turn are reflected in the lack of essential social services, transport infrastructures and communications.
Regarding specific groups, women and the elderly are the ones facing a higher risk of poverty. The former due to
the lack of empowerment, since women in rural areas hardly ever have a paid job, even though they perform economic activities, and only a small fraction of women runs their own business. In the case of the elderly, poverty
risk is a consequence of their higher need of social services and their limited access to resources.
Therefore, poverty and social exclusion are among the main problems facing some rural communities in Spain.
Despite their importance, no specific attention has been paid to these issues either in national or regional programs.
Concerning specific policies aiming to enhance living condition in rural areas, the National Plan for Social
Inclusion does not dedicate a particular section to this issue, although some partial reference is made regarding
child poverty and the promotion of information technologies in rural areas. Notwithstanding, some other general
measures are expected to have a considerable impact in rural areas, like the new Law on Personal Autonomy and
Assistance to Dependants that will implement the so-called fourth pillar of the welfare state. The National Strategic
Plan for Rural Development has paid a particular attention to the struggle against rural depopulation by promoting
alternative productive structures in rural areas and enhancing tourist attractiveness, whereas women are the only
group at risk dealt with in a specific section of the strategy.
With regard to structural policies, the National Strategic Reference has set as one of its priorities the provision of
social infrastructures and employment opportunities in rural areas in order to avoid the increasing depopulation
process and it seems to put certain emphasis in gender issues and the consequences of an excessively old rural population. One of the most fruitful policies launched by the Spanish Administration to tackle rural poverty is the
enhancement of information and communication technologies by means of several programs that facilitate the
access to the internet in isolated rural areas as well as in urban areas where social exclusion risks are very high.
At a regional level, each public authority (responsible for implementing the National Strategies and create its own
according to the needs of its inhabitants) has developed its own Rural Development and Social Inclusion plans,
though almost none of them has included rural poverty reduction into their main objectives.
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