What does society demand from rural areas? Evidence from Southern Spain
New Medit, vol 12, n.1, (March 2013), pp. 2-12
Language: EN
Jel classification: Q18, D62
This study analyses the preferences of Andalusian people for the functions that rural areas should perform. Based on a survey and using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), three generic (economic, environmental and social) and nine specific functions are evaluated. The results show that environmental functions are the most highly valued (52%), followed by social (26%) and economic functions (22%). There are significant differences between the urban and rural valuation of functions, the latter assigning greater importance to environmental functions. As to the nine specific functions, the conservation of land and water resources was deemed to be the most important function (23%).
multifunctionality, countryside, AHP, public goods
