REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN SPAIN’S LEADER+ (2000-2006) RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Abstract

The paper investigates differences among eight of the largest Spanish regions (comunidades autonomas) regarding projects implemented during the European Leader+ (2000-2006) initiative. It focuses on the importance these regions have given to individual types of projects, such as small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, the agro-industry, social services, natural and cultural heritage, education and training, and interterritorial and transnational cooperation and even establishes several correlations to local characteristics such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), percentage of agriculture in the GDP, percentage of unemployment, etc. Another point of interest is the efficiency of the Leader+ programme in mobilising private capital through public co-investment. The multiplication effect rises to 3.9 of invested private euros per one public euro in the most successful Local Action Groups (LAGs), as well as in the most requested types of projects. In addition, the analysis looks at several economic and social indicators of efficiency (inversion, businesses and jobs created per capita, cost of created jobs, social services, education and training, etc.). The analysis was implemented at the level of the selected eight regions, as well as at the level of individual LAGs which manage Leader projects within their territories.