Title: EU industrial policy and competitiveness in rural SMEs

Authors: Gary Bosworth; Leo-Paul Dana; Gerard McElwee

Addresses: Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN6 7RT, UK. ' GSCM Montpellier Business School, Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier, 2300 Avenue des Moulins 34185, Montpellier Cedex 4, Montpellier, France; University of Canterbury, Private bag 4800, Christchurch 8081, New Zealand. ' Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU, UK

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to consider the impact of EU industrial policy for rural and peripheral areas. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) had dominated the rural policy agenda at the expense of other forms of industrial development policy. Rural areas are no longer dominated by agricultural employment and productivist farming, but they are a mosaic of economic activity that increasingly mirrors more urban areas. We therefore hypothesise that the EU policy framework reinforces certain economic disadvantages for rural locations at a time when the changing composition of rural economies offers the potential for new dynamics in local development.

Keywords: Common Agricultural Policy; CAP; EU; European Union; agriculture; farming; farms; agricultural subsidies; rural entrepreneurship; rural policies; industrial policies; competitiveness; rural areas; peripheral areas; agricultural employment; productivist farming; productivism; economic activity; urban areas; Europe; policy frameworks; economic disadvantages; rural locations; rural economies; new dynamics; local development; small and medium-sized enterprises; rural SMEs; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2011.042760

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2011 Vol.14 No.3, pp.391 - 405

Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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