L'intégration économique locale des entreprises et des territoires ruraux : Une analyse basée sur 12 bourgs et petites villes françaises et portugaises

This paper analyzes the local economic integration of rural firms and areas, in using data from survey carried out to French and Portuguese non-agricultural firms located in 12 small or medium-sized towns and their hinterland. The analysis of their sales and purchases and the location where they hold allows us to determine the firms able to involve local economic development. Through a regression of the degree of local integration on firm?s and local characteristics, we show the more integrated firms are the smallest, the oldest and the less productive. In addition, we highlight the role of the economic sector on the degree of firm?s local integration. This role is so important that it explains a large part of the local integration of the rural areas. Indeed, a shift and share analysis made at the study area level shows the strength of the sectoral effects and the relative weakness of the geographical ones on the degree of local economic integration of the study areas.