Rural communities have distinctive patterns of economic development and social life. Previous research has highlighted a rural-urban divide across several dimensions of quality of life. For instance, living standards are lower on average in rural areas. This policy brief aims to draw...

Following recent enlargement of the EU, the regional diversity in relation to living conditions, economic prosperity, infrastructure and educational levels of rural areas has become even more accentuated. Rural areas in the poorer countries tend to be characterised by a less educated workforce,...