Norway has successfully developed a resource based economy (hydroelectricity, petroleum, fisheries, agriculture) and is also competitive in specific sectors on the world market (light metals, automotive parts, maritime) thanks to improved productivity and innovation. Sound macroeconomic policies have kept inflation under control, with the fiscal earnings of petroleum and gas exploitation going into a Pension Fund contributing to reduce the impact of increased ageing. The country has enjoyed steady growth since the beginning of the nineties (3% per year between 1991 and 2003) and in terms of GDP per capita, it ranks third in the OECD, only behind Luxembourg and the United States. This favourable context has made it easier for successive governments to pursue regional development policies and programmes comprising a strong bias in favour of remote rural areas and the north of the country (district policy) where climate, distance and very low population densities bring forward issues of market access but also of public service delivery. Despite these proactive policies, around half of Norwegian municipalities experienced population decline in the decades following the mid-1980s, with inward migration towards Oslo and major cities in the south.