Understanding disparities in Slovenian rural areas: various new indicatiors

Abstract

It has been widely accepted that regional development disparities are multi-faceted: on the one hand they hinder the development potentials of structurally weak rural areas, whilst on the other they stimulate faster development in distinctive, leading areas, thus re-creating old and generating new, more complex, regional differences. The paper focuses on quantitative ways of understanding the nature of rural disparities in Slovenia where the vast majority of national territory is defined as "rural" by OECD indicators. From the methodological perspective, single- and multi-level indicators were observed at the municipal level (LAU-2). Various indicators have been developed, with several looking at new generators of difference as well as indicators tailored to examine development disparities present in Slovenian rural areas. The results gained by extensive quantitative analysis could be used as scientific starting points that could inform rural policy decision makers in various rural regions. The focus on new indicators is particularly important as it highlights the challenges of such research whilst stressing the critical need for continued research into new generators and forms of disparities that may have negative consequences on rural areas, as well as possibly providing opportunities for previously problematic rural areas to address long-term development troubles.