Unlocking Rural Innovation
In the midst of a global slowdown in productivity, unlocking the innovative potential of rural places is more important than ever. As part of a series on supporting to help rural areas thrive, this thematic report provides the latest analysis and research on rural innovation, and proposes ways to overcome the growing gaps between rural and urban places that are contributing to the geographies of discontent. It first explores the multi-facetted innovative practices that are already occurring in rural places, and proposes alternative indicators beyond the traditional science and technology measures to capture them. Then, it identifies policy drivers and bottlenecks to help rural entrepreneurs, firms and people fully mobilise their growth potential. Results and recommendations are drawn from research and fact-finding missions from select OECD member countries.
Executive summary
OECD countries are currently in the midst of a global slowdown regarding innovation, in particular ground-breaking, productivity-inducing innovations, as witnessed by widespread anaemic productivity growth (OECD, 2019[1]). Lower productivity growth translates into lower long-term economic growth and, in turn, lower wages and well-being. This is why actions to drive innovation – a precursor of productivity growth (Aghion and Howitt, 1990[2]; OECD, 2016[3]; Romer, 1990[4]) – are so important. Those actions are particularly important for rural regions. Across large OECD regions (TL2) in European countries, high-technology (high-tech) innovation is associated with a five times higher increase in jobs when regions have larger shares of people living in non-metropolitan regions, as compared to those in more metropolitan regions.
Also available in: French
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