Small School Closures in Rural Areas—The Beginning or the End of a Downward Spiral? Some Evidence from Austria

Kroismayr, Sigrid

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94869-0_11

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A recent study by Kroismayr (2019) explored the demographic, economic and social trends in Austrian municipalities in which at least one primary school was closed between 2001 and 2014. Kroismayr investigated the importance of distinguishing between municipalities that had lost their last school and those that still had a school.…”

Section: The Determinants Of Population Growth and Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

Neighbourhood effects and determinants of population changes in Italy: A spatial perspective

Benassi¹,

Busetta²,

Gallo³

et al. 2023

Populationyearbook

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Population trends in Italy are strongly spatially differentiated, with some munic- ipalities showing a systematic loss of population, and others showing an equally continuous demographic increase. Here, we focus our attention on the spatial dimension of population change, looking at how different socio-economic and demographic dimensions affect population changes, as well as their spatial effects. After performing a preliminary descriptive analysis of the trends of population growth and decline in Italy over the last 40 years and the relevant demographic components, we used a spatial Durbin model (SDM) to investigate the potential existence of a diffusion process and the determinants of the average annual growth rate between 2011 and 2019 at the municipal level. The spatial dimension and local heterogeneities in Italy were found to be highly relevant in the analysis of population decline. Moreover, we examined the relationship between demographic, social and economic factors and the demographic growth/decline of municipalities in the subsequent 10 years. Among the different covariates included in the model, the demographic composition of the population, the female activity rate, the youth employment rate and the presence/absence of a school proved to be strongly related to population growth and decline in Italian municipalities.

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Section: The Determinants Of Population Growth and Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

Neighbourhood effects and determinants of population changes in Italy: A spatial perspective

Benassi¹,

Busetta²,

Gallo³

et al. 2023

Populationyearbook

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“…Schools attract new residents and encourage migratory flows, since the better the provision and quality of educational infrastructures in rural areas, the greater is the likelihood of attracting new inhabitants [40], with rural schools playing an important role in patterns of population mobility [76]. Furthermore, school closures have a negative influence on the local demography and economy, mainly in remote regions [77,78]. Educational attainment tends to be strongly correlated with the development possibilities of regions; rural areas with lower levels of educational attainment present higher unemployment, poverty rates and population decline compared to those with higher educational levels [79].…”

Section: Impact Of Access To Services and Basic Facilities On Population Settlement In A Territorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Social Economy as a Factor of Economic Development and Resilience of Population in Rural Areas. A Study of Mediating Effects in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)

et al. 2021

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Depopulation is a serious problem facing developed countries, among them Spain. It is especially severe in rural areas, where some vicious circles emerge, nourished by reduced infrastructures and services, deteriorated quality of life, the low inflow of new inhabitants, low local development and an aged population. In this context, social economy institutions may be a key factor in the fight against population decline, having a leading role in reactivating economic dynamism through the creation of stable, high-quality jobs, promoting the local endogenous development of rural areas, helping enhance income in those spaces, encouraging the arrival of people and impacting positively on social cohesion, and enabling sustainable growth. This paper focuses on Castilla-La Mancha, an eminently rural region, which is among the areas most severely impacted by the loss of population in Spain. The aim is to analyze the factors that affect the settlement of population, and to demonstrate that social economy institutions may be a resilience factor of rural population. A partial least squares model, composed of 8 constructs related to 21 variables extracted from data for 2017 and 2018 on the 613 municipalities, allows us to demonstrate that the existence of social economy entities helps to anchor population and increase the resilience of this territory.

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“…However, their efforts did not have the desired effect. The closure of village facilities and services often goes hand in hand with protests and negative emotions towards these losses (Christiaanse & Haartsen, 2017;Kroismayr, 2018Kroismayr, , 2019. The loss of a facility is a (place) change that has to be dealt with.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dealing with the loss of the village supermarket: The perceived effects two years after closure

Haartsen

Gieling²

2021

Sociologia Ruralis

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In 2015, the local supermarket of the depopulating village of Ulrum closed its doors. After a first survey around the closure, a second survey was conducted two years later, to investigate changes in the different meanings of the local supermarket and the perceived effects of its closure over time. The results show that respondents state that the liveability and status of the village have decreased because of the loss of the supermarket. This strongly relates to the symbolic and village level meanings of the supermarket: A village 'needs' a supermarket for the villages' status and as a place to do groceries, and people feel that a village without a supermarket is a village without a heart. The article concludes by alleging that the symbolic meaning of facilities plays an important role in explaining the perceived effects of the loss of the local supermarket.

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Small School Closures in Rural Areas—The Beginning or the End of a Downward Spiral? Some Evidence from Austria

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Neighbourhood effects and determinants of population changes in Italy: A spatial perspective

Neighbourhood effects and determinants of population changes in Italy: A spatial perspective

The Social Economy as a Factor of Economic Development and Resilience of Population in Rural Areas. A Study of Mediating Effects in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)

Dealing with the loss of the village supermarket: The perceived effects two years after closure

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