CHANGE IN THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE - SOME ANALYTICAL PROPOSITIONS

An economic analysis of the French 'rural renaissance' is proposed, illustrated by some INRA (Dijon) ongoing research. Agriculture is being cut back while rural industry remains stable. Demand for rural residential, recreational and environmental goods is growing. The analysis is conducted by developing the comparative advantage concept (local resources, transport costs, spatialised production and consumption functions). Residential and occupational mobility and commuting systems are examined within a micro-economic framework. A Keynesian mechanism of employment inducement within market areas is then called upon to explain the new distribution of activities. These changes suggest new definitions of farming as an occupation and new structures for local labour market areas that are spatially and hierarchically polarised. They should transform land use and development policies in order to integrate rural and urban areas and enhance the value of rural resources.