Differences in economic development in rural regions of advanced countries: an overview and critical analysis of theories

This article provides an overview and critical analysis of theories on economic development in rural regions in advanced countries. For this purpose, we have consulted literature in regional economics and the multidisciplinary field of rural studies. In order to analyse to which extent these theories are supported by empirical evidence, we have applied the method of pattern-matching to 18 case studies in leading and lagging rural regions in the EU. The matching results show that the mixed exogenous/endogenous development approach, the community-led development theory and the first hypothesis of Brydenʹs theory on the exploitation of social and cultural capital are widely supported by empirical evidence from the case studies. Broadly speaking, these theories relate economic development---given the availability of labour and capital--to a high capacity of local actors and strong internal and external networks.