Entrepreneurs and Territorial Diversity: Success and Failure in Andalusia 2007–2015

Eugenio Cejudo García, José Antonio Cañete Pérez, Francisco Navarro Valverde and Noelia Ruiz Moya
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Eugenio Cejudo García: Department of Human Geography, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
José Antonio Cañete Pérez: Department of Human Geography, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Francisco Navarro Valverde: Department of Human Geography, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Noelia Ruiz Moya: Department of Human Geography, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: Rural Europe today cannot be understood without considering the impact of the EU’s Liaisons Entre Actions de Developpement de l’Economie Rurale (LEADER) rural development programme. Although in general it has had a positive impact, research has also revealed spatial and social disparities in the distribution of funds. Our primary source was the files for all the LEADER projects processed in Andalusia between 2007 and 2015. In addition to successfully executed projects, we also focused on “unfunded” projects, those in which, although promoters had initiated the application procedure, a grant was never ultimately obtained. Project failure must be studied so as to avoid biased findings. We then classified these projects within the different types of rural area and analysed the behaviour of the different promoters in these areas. Relevant findings include: project success or failure varies according to the different types of rural area, as does the behaviour of the different promoters; the degree of rurality can hinder project success; young and female entrepreneurs were more likely to fail; the type of promoter is strongly influenced by the distance to cities in that companies and Individual Entrepreneurs tend to invest in periurban spaces, while public sector promoters such as Local Councils are more prominent in remote rural areas.

Keywords: neo-endogenous rural development; LEADER approach; rural areas; classification and types of rural areas; good practices; rural depopulation and aging; young and female entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; funded and unfunded projects; Andalusia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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