A Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas: The Two Italies

Abstract

European policies are increasingly focused on long-term rural development. The effectiveness of these policies is dependent on the involvement of local actors. The present paper investigates the involvement of said actors in the Italian context by asking Local Action Groups to assign a score to each of the eight dimensions of rural development in relation to: i) implemented actions; ii) future expectations; iii) involvement of local communities; iv) involvement of public actors. Synthetic indicators are then used to measure the long-term vision of development. The results indicate that there is less involvement of public actors in the South of Italy