Rural Depopulation and the Migration Turnaround in Mediterranean Western Europe: A Case Study of Aragon

Authors

  • Vicente Pinilla University of Zaragoza
  • María-Isabel Ayuda University of Zaragoza
  • Luis-Antonio Sáez University of Zaragoza

Abstract

We have selected Aragon in the northeast of Spain as a long-run case study for the problem of rural depopulation in Mediterranean Western Europe. The strength and persistence of the depopulation in the region has left numerous rural districts in extreme situations of low demographic density. The basic cause of this phenomenon is the intensity of rural-to-urban migratory processes in the Aragonese countryside. Rural depopulation in Aragon has not yet stopped. However, important changes have taken place since the 1990s. In the first place, migration has been replaced by negative natural growth as the key factor in rural depopulation. Furthermore, the current situation features a reversal of the migratory balance, resulting in a sharp deceleration in depopulation since 2001 and positive growth in the larger country towns. This switch in migratory flows is partly due to the arrival of foreign-born immigrants, who are attracted by opportunities arising as a result of the difficulty of replacing the active population. At the same time, Aragon is close to the top of the ranking of Spanish regions in terms of per capita income, while an incipient process of restructuring and change has begun in the rural hinterland and the emergence of new residential and tourist functions has helped attract Spanish urban migrants.

Author Biographies

Vicente Pinilla, University of Zaragoza

DR VICENTE PINILLA is Professor in Economic History at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. His research interests lie in international trade in agricultural products, Spanish agricultural production and mountain economies, depopulation and migration. He is author of several books and numerous papers in academic journals on these issues. He is co-editor of the book Agriculture and Economic Development in Europe since 1870 (London, Routledge). Recent publications include ‘The development of irrigated agriculture in twentieth century Spain: a case study of the Ebro bassin’, Agricultural History Review 54, I (2006), ‘Extreme Depopulation in the Spanish Rural Mountain Areas’, Rural History 15,2 (2004), ‘The Political Economy of the Wine Trade: Spanish Exports and the International Market, 1890-1935’ European Review of Economic History 6 (2002). Advisor of the Government of Aragon for rural and population policies.

María-Isabel Ayuda, University of Zaragoza

DR. MARÍA-ISABEL AYUDA is Associate Professor in Econometrics at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. Her research interests lie in applied and theoretical econometrics and demography. She is author of numerous papers in academic journals on these issues. Recent publications include ‘Market dynamism and international trade: a case study of Mediterranean agricultural products, 1850-1935’, Applied Economics (2007), ‘Behaviour in small samples of some tests of non-nested hypotheses en non-stationary regressions and their bootstrap versions’, Computational Statistics 20,2 (2005), ‘The role of simplicity in an Econometric model selection process’ in Simplicity, Inference and Econometric Modelling (2001). Advisor of the Government of Aragon for rural and population policies.

Luis-Antonio Sáez, University of Zaragoza

DR. LUIS ANTONIO SAEZ is Associate Professor in Applied Economics at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. Director of the Center for Depopulation and Rural Development Studies. He has been editor of Ager, Journal of Depopulation and Rural Development Studies (2001-2006). Advisor of the Government of Aragon for rural and population policies. He is author of numerous papers in academic journal on rural and local development.

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Published

2008-03-03

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Articles