Business development in rural areas
Developing businesses in far-off rural regions across Europe is essential for the wide-scale sustainability and economic prosperity of these outlying areas. The EU-funded project 'Territorial aspects of enterprise development in remote rural areas' (TERA) looked at how territorial factors affected the development of businesses. The project aimed to support policies that further sustainable spatial development in the EU and enhance economic development. It integrated these factors into a policy framework that promotes sustainability in order to create actual policies that encourage viable growth in rural areas. This involved analysis of key economic factors that affect the birth and survival of businesses in concerned regions. In more specific terms, the project selected the rural areas as a result of intense context work by each country involved. The project then applied both new economic geography (NEG) and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models in order to interpret the findings and to make informed proposals regarding future policy. among its most important findings, TERA also highlighted a lack of cooperation between structural funds and investments or land management, particularly with respect to individual farmers or entrepreneurs. It also found that development programmes did not always consider available funds and territorial factors, and that remote areas could not influence the design of development programmes. overall, the project's focus was on articulating policy recommendations related to migration, agriculture, regional trade, labour supply, transportation, development strategies and tourism. By properly assessing the effects of existing agricultural policies and their impact on rural economies and exploring the dynamic between regional, urban and rural policies, TERA helped support rural economy significantly.
